Spiral
by Callista Miralni
Summary: UNDERGOING REVISION To break the twisted spiral of their lives, sacrifice was required. This was her duty—to the father she never had the chance to know and to the mother she always loved. They deserved their happy ending. SasuSaku.
1. Sadako

Spiral

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer:... nothing. Except for Sada. :)

I'm re-writing the entire fic... :\ There were so many things that popped up in the course of writing the first version... stuff that should have been mentioned earlier in the plot, things that I didn't even think of until later but were needed to achieve the end I had in mind. :\

So re-writing begins...

Enjoy?

* * *

Chapter One: Sadako

They told me I looked like my father.

In every aspect of my life, this simple statement was true. I thrived in my father's shadow, blossoming into the delicate flower I really was. My high forehead and straight hair were the only indications of who my mother is. I was called a prodigy, like my father and uncle before me. But I was uneasy with the title. Didn't they know that prodigies, especially prodigies from my family, suffer the most? And even though I am only twelve years old, I have indeed suffered, developing a closed, independent personality that my mother despaired of. I was, indeed, exactly like my father.

But I've never met my father. All I have are stories from my aunts and uncles and old photographs. Years ago, that snake stole my father and held him captive. My father as his container in exchange for sparing Konohagakure no Sato. It was my father's choice to spare his hometown, the same one he betrayed five years before. He left to prove he was worthy of wearing the leaf hitai-ate headband. He left to give me life.

So today, the day of my graduation from the ninja academy, I, Uchiha Sadako, swear upon my hitai-ate, to kill the snake and to bring my father home at last.

* * *

Haruno Sakura ran quickly through the near-empty streets of Konoha.

_Please let me get there on time, please!_ Sakura prayed silently. She skidded to a halt in front of the gates to the ninja academy just as the bell rang.

Sakura sighed in relief. So far, so good and she wasn't the only one running late either. Sakura couldn't wait for the graduates to return from the survival exercise. Then, she spotted the dark hair and clothing of her only child in the crowd of graduates and returning academy students.

"Sadako!" She called and waved the girl towards her. As Sadako approached her mother, Sakura couldn't help but notice the leaf hitai-ate being used as a headband in her daughter's long raven hair, just like how her own hitai-ate was tied.

"Sada, I'm so proud of you! You graduated top of your class and you're a Genin now!" Sakura exclaimed as she hugged Sadako tightly.

The girl didn't know how to react. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around her mother's torso and awkwardly returned the embrace. Sakura sensed her uneasiness and choked back her tears.

_She's just like Sasuke…_

"Come on Sadako. Let's go home and have a nice lunch."

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto, the 5th ANBU Squad Captain, slid to a stop in front of the apartment building where his childhood friend lived with her daughter. Naruto groaned at the prospect of having to climb five flights of stairs to Sakura's apartment because the elevator was broken.

Without another moment of delay, Naruto ran up the stairs and came to a stop at the apartment's open door, where a waiting Sadako suddenly punched him in the gut.

"Oh, Naruto-oji-sama, it's just you." Sadako said coolly, studying her knuckles.

Naruto winced and rubbed his stomach. _Man, that kid can sure pack a punch…_ Naruto thought. _Her reflexes are just like Sasuke's and she hits like Sakura-chan… bad combination for me…_

"Naruto! How are you? Oh! Why are you holding your stomach?" Sakura questioned, eyeing the ANBU Captain with concern.

"It's nothing okaa-sama. Naruto-oji-sama just has no defense." Sadako called from her place at the table.

Sakura and Naruto shared a look. Yup, there was no denying it or disproving it, Uchiha Sadako was Sasuke's kid.

"Hey, Sada-chan, congrats on becoming a genin. You've done exceptionally well for being home schooled half of your Academy years." Naruto said, trying to break the silence.

"The scrolls in the Uchiha district and the main house are pretty useful. And I studied all of Otou-sama's and Okaa-sama's notes." Sadako answered lightly.

The girl continued eating her lunch, unaware of the troubled look her mother gave her uncle. Naruto flashed Sakura a 'We'll-talk-later' look. The rest of the meal was spent in silence.

* * *

"She's just like Sasuke, it's almost scary." Nara-Yamanaka Ino told Sakura several weeks later in the Hokage's office. At Naruto's request, the Rokudaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, had gathered as many of their old friends he could to update them on the search for Uchiha Sasuke and to talk about his prodigious daughter.

"No kidding! I saw Sadako training alone yesterday and I was shocked by her mastery of the Uchiha firestyle Jutsus. But unlike Sasuke-san, Sada works well with her team and has brilliant strategies. Just like you Sakura." Hyuuga Tenten added.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers, not bothering to correct her friend that it was usually Sasuke and Naruto who came up with the brilliant strategies in Team 7.

"Still, Sadako worries me. What if Orochimaru decides that he wants Sada for his next vessel? My life would be destroyed and I couldn't bear to loose her."

Kakashi looked up from his calendar and suddenly said, "The Chuunin Exams are nine months away, held here in Konoha. Knowing Neji, he'll have his cell ready three months before."

"Hyuuga's Sadako's instructor? Who else is on her team?" Shikamaru asked, surprised.

"Of course—Hyuuga's perfect for the job. And I believe Yuuhi Takashi and Mitarashi Akihiro are on her Genin team. Nephews of Kurenai and Anko." Kakashi replied, leaning back in his chair. Opening up a well-worn book, Kakashi mumbled, "Now where was I...?"

The women in the room made noises of disgust at the back of their throats but said nothing. Sakura stared out the window, lost within her thoughts.

_Sasuke-kun…_

"By the way..." Naruto suddenly asked. "Have you heard from her?"

Kakashi looked up at his former student sharply. "The walls have ears."

"You're clear." Shikamaru confirmed. "I ran a sweep just a minute ago."

Setting down his book, Kakashi pulled a file out from a locked compartment of his desk. "Her reports are all coded; I can't figure them out." Kakashi admitted, laying out the file's contents on his desk. "The most I could learn from what I could understand is that Tsunade-sama sent her out on a mission of utmost importance. Something about the Uchiha Massacre and Sasuke."

Now alert, Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. "What did you say? Sadako's investigating the Uchiha clan? Why?"

"If I knew," Kakashi frowned. "then I would've called her back. But because I know absolutely nothing about this Black Ops mission, I can't undo what the former Hokage ordered. That's not the way the law works."

* * *

Hyuuga Neji sighed and eyed his team with frustration. "Takashi—stop picking on Sadako. And you, Akihiro! Pay attention; your lack of concentration could be your downfall and failure to complete the mission. Sadako, show some backbone will you? You can't always be waiting for the order to strike."

Neji inwardly regretted taking this job. How on earth did Tenten persuade Kakashi to assign Neji the task of being a Genin instructor for a few years? On top of that, his team consisted of this generation's Uchiha prodigy, a Yuuhi smartass, and a Mitarashi slacker.

Neji was going to kill Kakashi for approving this cell assignment.

"We're going to spar today. First up are Uchiha and Yuuhi. Don't kill each other, mind you. The Chuunin exams are coming up and I want you to take it then." Neji ordered.

Sadako tightened her long hair into a high ponytail, like the one her Ino-oba-sama always wore. She gently ran her kunai against her thumb, a sign of impatience.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you Uchiha." Takashi smirked. This boy, two years her senior, was seriously underestimating her and it irked Sadako to no end.

"So says the one who failed the graduation test two years in a row. Girls gotta be strong to survive. And I intend to kill someone so I can't die yet." Sadako retorted, unknowingly quoting both of her parents.

Takashi charged forward, wires intertwined among his fingers. "Don't underestimate me!" he yelled.

The boy snarled and jumped high in the air, intending to strike the kunoichi down with a barrage of kunai.

_Shoot!_ Sadako eyed the shower of kunai and wires falling down towards her. _Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move- fast!_ Sadako thought frantically. She clutched her left arm in pain where a kunai had cut her.

Finding a weapons summoning scroll in her pocket from her Tenten-oba-sama, the Uchiha untied the scroll and released a storm of weapons on Takashi.

Takashi tried to outrun the falling projectiles, but his efforts proved fruitless. He threw a shuriken at his opponent, hoping to distract Sadako and stop the weapons from attacking him.

Sadako noticed the shuriken a split-second too late. Her hands flew in forming the few seals she needed to dodge the shuriken. "Kawarami no Jutsu!"

Takashi, his vision finally cleared of the dust-filled smoke, scanned the area for the girl. He heard a rustle from his left side and took a defensive stance.

_Where is she?_

"You know, you shouldn't let your guard down." Sadako's voice echoed from the wood. Takashi spun around to try and find his teammate but all he heard was:

"That's gonna do you no good." Sadako's voice echoed again from the trees. Her opponent growled and pulled out a kunai, waiting for the Uchiha to reveal herself.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" Sadako cried, ramming her fingers into her enemy's _ahem,_ behind.

"WHAT THE HELL! WHAT KIND OF JUTSU IS THAT?!" Takashi roared as he flew into the air, clutching his throbbing bottom.

Neji and Akihiro stood there and stared at the girl, shocked at what she had just done. Yes, Uchiha Sadako had taken Hatake Kakashi's _amusing _technique and used it on her teammate.

Neji stared at his female student, knowing from watching the match with his Byakugen that she was holding back. If Takashi was defeated by a mere technique that was meant as a prank to pull on the foolish, then he had a lot to teach his cell.

_Then again_, Neji thought. _Sadako's Chuunin level already, only lacking in experience. That's one less idiot to teach... I think..._

It was going to be a _long_ nine months.

* * *

After their daily training session, Akihiro noticed that Neji-sensei had held Sadako-san back to talk to her. They were talking quietly in the training grounds. Akihiro beckoned to Takashi and pointed to the teacher-student pair. The two Genin hid behind a bush and spied on them.

"I'm surprised at you Sada. You didn't give Takashi the thrashing I'd expected you to during that first spar last week."

The Uchiha heir scowled and grumbled, "Okaa-sama would have been displeased that I sent one of my teammates half-dead to the hospital. Besides, Neji-oji-sama, why are you bringing this up now?"

Akihiro and Takashi looked at each other nervously. Uchiha Sadako, able to kill? The possibility of it seemed unlikely—she was only twelve!

"Neji-sensei, fight me."

Neji smirked. "Don't cry to me if you get hurt." He warned.

Sadako smiled. "Don't hold back."

Two kunai clashed together with a loud _clang!_ The two ninjas sprang apart, their hands quickly forming seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

"Woah! Genin aren't supposed to be able to do fire jutsus!" Takashi exclaimed, his voice unheard by the dueling pair.

"Byakugen! Uchiha, you can't hide from me now!" Neji exclaimed.

"Who said I was hiding?" Sadako retorted. She stepped out from the shadows of the woods, her eyes set into an intimidating glare.

But to her hiding spectators and to her opponent, it wasn't her glare that caused them to stop and stare at her.

It was her eyes.

The blood red _Sharingan_ mirror-wheel eyes that stared out at the world around her and saw to the very core.

* * *

-Two weeks later-

"Hey! Uchiha! Come with us to Ichiraku's for lunch!" Akihiro yelled to his female teammate.

Sadako looked up hesitantly from her book and regarded the thirteen-year-old genin carefully.

"Umm… why?"

Akihiro rolled his eyes. "Because Takashi and I are hungry."

"But why bring me along? Takashi and I don't exactly see eye to eye."

Akihiro stared at the younger girl in disbelief. "Then start seeing eye to eye by hanging out with us

at Ichiraku's." he said as he hauled the Uchiha up to her feet and dragged her away to the ramen shop.

"Yo, Akihiro and _Uchiha_…. what are you doing here?" Takashi spat venomously as he saw the pair enter Ichiraku's Ramen Stall.

"Don't complain to me, I was dragged here by Mitarashi, Yuuhi." Sadako muttered darkly.

Some of the customers in the stall regarded her suspiciously, their whispers not failing to escape her keen hearing.

"_It's the Uchiha girl…"_

"_Her good-for-nothing father abandoned her before she was even born. Tch. What can you expect from a traitor, never mind the fact that Tsunade-sama pardoned him."_

"_Tsunade-sama was too soft on the Uchiha traitor because her protégé claimed she loved him."_

"_They're ex-teammates. I can't believe that Haruno-sensei would love someone like him, or even give birth to his child."_

Sadako couldn't take it anymore. She glared at the whispering pair at the end of the bar, her onyx eyes swirling with mixed emotions. The girl started walking towards the pair, fury and anger radiating with each step.

"Wait, Uchiha- " Akihiro called after her desperately.

The Uchiha heir ignored her teammate and stood purposely behind the whispering pair.

The two looked behind them when they noticed a shadow being cast onto the counter.

"Can I help you?" One of the whisperers, a girl five years her senior, snapped rudely.

"You wanna say that to my face?" Sadako hissed venomously.

"Say what, Uchiha-sama?" The other whisperer, another girl five years her senior, asked innocently.

Sadako shot them both a death glare that would have rivaled her father's. She grabbed the collar of their shirts in her hands, limiting their air supply.

"Don't you dare insult my parents. Don't you dare talk about things you don't know the first thing about. How old where you when the Snake attacked Konohagakure? Five? Four? Barely old enough to remember and yet you weren't there. You were hiding in the Hokage memorial. Shut the hell up and don't talk like you know everything!"

"There's more to the story that Tsunade-obaa-sama told the general public. Not even all the shinobis know the full story. You don't deserve to walk around, acting all high and mighty and degrading those you don't understand or know. My father's a hero. My father's the only reason why you're sitting here eating Ayame-san's ramen. If I catch you two gossiping like that again,

there will be Hell to pay. I will personally make sure of it."

Sadako let go of the two girls and turned to walk away. She was stopped by one of the girl's hold on her wrist.

"Who do you think you are, little girl, to tell us all of that? I bet you're not an Uchiha at all. I wonder if you're some little orphan girl that Haruno-sensei and the Uchiha traitor adopted to get

the Hokage off of Uchiha's case." The first girl said haughtily.

Takashi and Akihiro had simply stood mute during their teammate's tirade. But their shinobi senses put them on high alert as the first girl insulted the Uchiha heir.

The second girl gasped in shock. "Arisa-chan, that's going too far!"

"Shut up, Kayako!"

Sadako's onyx eyes swirled blood red and her hands flew in making the hand signs for her fire jutsu.

"Takashi! She's going to attack! She's lost all control!" Akihiro yelled to his friend.

"Hold her down while I move the two girls outta the way then!" Takashi retorted.

Akihiro ran towards his teammate and grasped her hands tightly. "Uchiha! Stop it!"

The girl wrenched her hands out of her teammate's grasp and continued forming seals.

"Sadako!" Akihiro begged her as he tried to stop her attack.

Before she could release the flame from her lips, Sadako felt the stored chakra in her throat ebb and die away. Another pair of hands held her own behind her back and a familiar voice said:

"Uchiha Sadako—your mother would skin you alive if she saw what you were about to do. Then again, the ugly hag might not inflict too much damage 'cause you're her precious daughter."

Sadako craned her head to see who had stopped her. Her glare intensified tenfold as she realized who was holding her captive.

"Sai-oji-sama… what are you doing here?"

Sai smiled and said, "Taking you home my dear," as he dragged the protesting girl away from the ramen shop.

* * *

When they were far away from Ichiraku's, Sai let go of Sadako's arm and turned around to face her.

"What on earth am I going to do with you Sadako? Didn't we teach you any self-control and restraint?" Sai sighed.

Sadako turned away from her uncle in contempt. "I don't need a baby-sitter Sai-oji-sama. I can take care of myself."

Sai snorted. "Sure you can. You almost cost Ayame a new ramen stall if you had released the fireball in your throat. Don't give me that crap Sadako."

"I don't need your 'moral advice' Sai-oji-sama." Sadako snapped.

Sai froze and crouched down to Sadako's eye-level. "You know kid," he said, flicking the girl on the forehead with his fingers. "You're a lot like your dad."

"So I've heard, Sai-oji-sama, so I've heard. And I'm starting to get sick of it."

The girl marched off, presumably back home to the apartment. Sai watched her leave.

"You know..." The artist mused. "You remind me of someone else too... someone who I haven't seen since the day you were born."

* * *

Sakura thumbed through the letters from her mailbox as she rode the elevator to her floor.

_Bills... bills... mailing ads... more bills... letters from Lee... notes from Tsunade-shishou... bills..._

And a package.

It was sent from Nami no Kuni with no return address. Curious, Sakura opened the door to her apartment and set the other letters aside before reaching for a shuriken and gently slicing the brown envelope open. Something heavy fell into her open palm and Sakura gasped in surprise.

"You shouldn't have." She murmured to no one. "I can't take this—it's the only thing Sasuke-kun gave you."

Opening the neatly folded note inside, Sakura teared up at the familiar and elegant handwriting, writing that bore an uncanny resemblance to her daughter's own.

"_It's not for you—it's for your daughter. This is my gift to her since I don't know when I'll see her. Besides-" _Sakura could practically _see_ her teasing grin, see _Sasuke's_ familiar smirk._ "That brat can keep it safe for me until I come back for it. She should wear it... you know... for luck during the Chuunin Exams and that kind of thing."_

The medic pocketed the necklace and brushed away the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. "I'll remember that." She said with a laugh.

_When are you coming home Sadako?

* * *

_

The first part of the Chuunin exams passed by without an incident. Takashi almost lost his head during the final question (his head hurt really bad from thinking too much) and Sadako fell asleep but was pinched awake by Akihiro two rows behind (he used the Yamanaka Mind Transfer Jutsu, seeing as he was part Yamanaka). The proctor for the first exam was none other than Aburame Shino, the current head of the Torture and Interrogation ANBU department.

The second exam was starting in three minutes and Sadako was itching to begin. Ever since her mother told her about the first time Team Kakashi took the Chuunin Exams, the Uchiha girl was itching to wander around Area 44—the Forest of Death.

A sudden warmth on her shoulders momentarily distracted Sadako from the forest, but she ignored it and focused on the training area again. "Hey Sada—what's wrong? You're shaking. Chickening out already?"

Akihiro had draped his arm around her shoulders before putting her in a headlock and messing up her hair, drawing the attention of Takashi.

"No pain, no glory." Takashi smirked. "We're going to own this. But if you really want out Sada... I guess you Uchihas aren't as awesome as you think."

Sadako finally wrestled her way out of Akihiro's hold and scowled at her teammates. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just excited. What—you disappointed I'm not scared Takashi?"

"Meh." The teen shrugged. "Unfortunately, we need the Sharingan as a tactical advantage."

Rolling her eyes, Sadako slipped her hands into her pockets and drew out a silver necklace with the Uchiha fan, encrusted with rubies and diamonds, dangling from the chain wound around her fingers. The girl stared at the pendant for a moment before reaching around to clasp it around her neck.

_Why did Okaa-sama beg me to wear this necklace? Wouldn't it interfere with my ability to complete the exam?_ Sadako wondered to herself.

For luck—her mother insisted. From a very special and important friend of her father's.

"Teams to your gates! The exam starts on my signal!" The proctor, Hyuuga Hanabi, yelled, her gaze lingering on Sadako for a few moments. "Five! Four! Three! Two! Go!!!"

The Second Exam had just begun.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama… doesn't this bring back memories?" a grey-haired man wearing round glasses said.

The Snake Sannin chuckled. "It certainly does, Kabuto. It certaintly does."

The two Sound ninjas—actually, the only two Sound ninjas, since the others were ruthlessly hunted down and eradicated—caught sight of three genins passing by. The one in the middle of the group, with raven hair and onyx-black eyes, was the one that caught their eye.

Uchiha Sadako.

The daughter of Uchiha Sasuke.

Who, in reality, was standing beside Kabuto in the Forest of Death.

_You won't get away this easily, Orochimaru. Don't you dare hurt my daughter._ A voice inside Orochimaru's head hissed.

The Sannin let out a noise of impatience. It was a side-effect of the metapsychosis nearly nine years ago. Somehow, Uchiha Sasuke managed to keep his soul intact and present on this earth, but lost his control of his body to Orochimaru. The only thing that remained was a voice inside Orochimaru's head, much like Haruno Sakura's Inner Sakura.

Kabuto turned around at the sudden noise. "Sasuke-kun bothering you again, Orochimaru-sama?"

"It is nothing." Orochimaru dismissed. "We need to secure the new container as soon as possible."

Inside his head, Sasuke growled and banged his hands against the golden bars that served as his blessing and his curse.

"Besides, like father, like daughter, I heard a little Uchiha was seeking revenge." Orochimaru laughed.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. _He's going to catch her… just like how he caught me…_

He felt like the worst father in the world.

* * *

Sadako felt a familiar chakra signature and she slowed down to a stop. Akihiro and Takashi stopped and turned back towards their teammate.

"Nani desu ka? We need to get moving to get the green ribbon from another team." Takashi asked her, annoyed.

"I thought…" she said as she scanned the surrounding area. "Just now… I thought I felt…"

"Nani? Sada, are you sure?" Akihiro asked, also scanning the area.

"Well, I don't feel anything. Let's just get moving." Takashi said, crossing his arms.

Sadako looked at the forest once again before shaking her head and jumping off the branch after her teammates.

It may have only been once before in her lifetime, before she was even born, but Uchiha Sadako was positive that, for a moment, she felt the warm chakra of her father.

Akihiro slowed down to a halt and put his fingers to his lips. "Do you hear that?"

Takashi and Sadako stopped and listened. A soft hiss could be heard from around them.

Sadako activated her Sharingan and scanned the area. "MOVE!" she screamed as a giant snake came crashing through the forest.

"What the hell is that?" Takashi yelled as he narrowly dodged a lunge from the snake.

"A snake, dobe! A huge snake!" Akihiro yelled back.

"Shut up and keep moving!" Sadako screamed. She looked up on the path ahead and bit back a scream as the snake suddenly moved from her left and blocked her path.

"Kuu kuu kuu… aren't we the clever one?"

Sadako looked up, fear coating every fiber of her being. It couldn't be…

Orochimaru gazed down at her through yellow eyes shining with pleasure.

"Orochimaru…"

"Ahh… the little Uchiha remembers me! Do you remember Kabuto as well?" the Snake Sannin hissed.

Kabuto jumped up on the snake beside him and said, "Your teammates are such a bother. They were so hard to incapacitate."

Sadako's eyes widened and looked back at her teammates. "How dare you-!"

"Oh but I do dare, little Uchiha." Orochimaru said from right behind her. Sadako froze and turned around to meet with the face of her father.

No, not her father. Orochimaru.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" she yelled, blowing fire out from her lungs.

"Ah yes, the family favorite. How could I have forgotten it? Sasuke-kun used it almost every time we sparred together." Orochimaru side-stepped the flames.

"Stop bringing up my father into this!" Sadako lashed out. "You may look like him, you may inhabit his body, but you will never be my father! Shut up!"

She tried to stab him in the arm but got a taste of electricity instead. "Chidori Nagashi!"

The Uchiha staggered back, paralyzed by the sudden jolt of electricity. Orochimaru used this opportunity to pull his favorite trick: the cursed heaven seal.

"Eyahhhhhh!" The girl screamed as he bit her. "What did you do?!"

"Left you a parting gift. By the way, tell your mother I said hello."

Orochimaru made a move to leave, but was stopped by Kabuto. "Orochimaru-sama, look. The seal's not forming."

The Snake Sannin's eyes widened and he yelled, "What is the meaning of this?!"

_Heh… I guess you forgot about _her.

"SASUKE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Orochimaru screamed.

_Sasuke? But… Dad's not here…_ Sadako wondered as her vision began to blur.

_Did you honestly think _she_ would forget? Did you honestly think she wouldn't do anything to keep my daughter safe? She's my student; I know her better than anyone else. She will do anything I asked of her._

Akihiro and Takashi, who lay forgotten on the forest floor, groaned and looked up into the branches above. They saw their teammate sway and slip off the branch.

"Sadako! Wake up!" Akihiro screamed. He and Takashi willed their legs to move but found that they couldn't move a muscle, courtesy of Kabuto and his chakra scalpel.

_It feels like… I'm floating…_

But before Uchiha Sadako plummeted to the ground where death awaited her, light enveloped her small frame and she disappeared without a trace.

"SADAKO!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Old readers: what do you think of the revisions? Does it still contain the flavors of the original? Is it any better? Worse [God, I hope not...]

New readers: Hi! Thank you for reading!

Ja ne!

Callista Miralni


	2. Blending In

Spiral

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: Sada is **mine.** XP

We're on a roll!

Okay, so technically, the last chapter didn't count. But whatever! New stuff, new stuff!

*dances*

HUZZAH!

BY THE WAY: I am fully aware that all of you are freaking out right now. But the site wouldn't let me send out a new notice about the NEW Chapter One, so I double posted to let you all know. ^^ BREATHE DEEPLY.

* * *

Chapter Two: Blending In

"Do you have a reading?" The wolf-masked ANBU asked.

"_We found him. Where is the retrieval team?_"

"A klick behind us. Spread the the perimeter and _make sure he doesn't escape._"

"Hatake-sempai," The wolf said. "Clearing ahead. Good luck."

Running through the treetops, Hatake Kakashi narrowed his visible eye but he easily responded, "Ah... hai, hai. Thank you for the well-wishes."

Behind him, a teen with a shock of bright blonde hair pumped more chakra to his legs as he increased his speed.

"Sasuke."

* * *

Sadako groaned and opened her eyes. Blinking away the heavy sleep pulling at her mind, she stared at the familiar white ceiling of the hospital. She felt like she was in a nightmare and had the pounding headache to prove it.

_Kami-sama, it felt so real_... The girl covered her eyes with a hand. _What was that?_

The images of a much younger version of her mother and Naruto-jii-sama, along with the only image she knew of her father arguing over tomatoes at dinner...

Her father training her in the Uchiha Katon jutsus in the old Training Field Three...

Her parents sharing a breathtaking kiss at an aristocratic ball...

Orochimaru bombarding the city with Oto nin...

"How are you feeling?"

The girl's head darted in the direction of the voice, the images dissipating from her mind. She sighed in relief at the sight of the familiar face. Although... she looked younger than Sadako remembered. Was memory failing the girl?

"Like I've been hit with a thousand bricks. How long have I been out?" She answered wryly, sitting up.

"I'm the one asking the questions here." Senjuu Tsunade snapped. "But you've been out for three days, Little Girl."

Sadako frowned. Didn't Tsunade-obaa-sama know her like her own grandchild? Why did she act like she had no idea who Sadako was?

The pounding in her head intensified.

"Tsunade-baa-sama, this isn't funny. You know who I am; you delivered me in the hospital."

"I have no idea who you are, Little Girl, but I suggest you start telling me the truth or the ANBU will be in here quicker than you can say 'no'."

Tsunade's threat was one Sadako knew firsthand was plausible. Once, when she was eight, a missing-nin who was recovering from the hospital refused to answer the Godaime's questions and cooperate. The ANBU really were in there before Tsunade could say "no." Her mother had to restrain the ANBU from slicing off her patient's head, never mind the fact that the said patient was a missing-nin.

Frustrated, Sadako started flexing and stretching her fingers, a soothing habit her mother often tried to break her of.

The Godaime Hokage's eyes softened. "Let's start over. Your name?"

"Uchiha Sadako."

Her eyebrow raised at the surname but Tsunade continued. "How old are you?"

"I'll be thirteen in July."

"Where do you come from?"

"Konohagakure no Sato."

Frowning, the Hokage asked, "Who is the current Hokage?"

"Kakashi-ojii-sama is the Rokudaime."

_Does this girl think I'm stupid or what?_ Tsunade wondered. _Time for a new tactic._

"Do you know of a man named Orochimaru?"

At this, Sadako laughed harshly. "What a question Tsunade-baa-sama. Alright, I'll play along with this ridiculous charade of yours. Do I know of Orochimaru? Better than most Genin. He tried to kidnap me when I was five, although nobody but Kakashi-jii-sama knows, and he tried to curse me during the second part of the Chuunin exams, which is how I ended up in the hospital in the first place. He broke my mother's heart and tore my family to pieces. He is the reason people whisper and call us the traitor's whore and bastard in the streets. He destroyed my life before I had the chance to live it. Orochimaru is the parasite holding my father hostage and I swore to kill him the day I graduated from the Academy. Do I know him? Yes."

Exasperated, Tsunade rubbed her forehead. Things still didn't add up. Thirteen years ago, Orochimaru was still in possession of his original body. As of right now, there are only two Uchihas left in the world. Only one question left to ask then.

"Who are your parents?"

Sadako rolled her onyx eyes in exasperation but held back the caustic remark.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura."

The Godaime's breath caught in her throat.

What the hell is going on?

* * *

Humming to herself, Haruno Sakura basked in the warm heat of her ramen bowl.

"Ne, ne Sakura-" Yamanaka Ino sank into the chair next to hers and ordered a bowl of beef ramen. "Where is the rest of your illustrious team?"

Pouting, Sakura irritably answered, "They're out on a S-class mission with the ANBU... _without_ me. Tsunade-shishou wouldn't let me go."

"What?" Ino looked scandalized. "That's like... blasphemy! That's like breathing without your lungs! What was Tsunade-sama thinking?"

The coral-haired medic didn't seem to hear her friend. "But noooo..." She broke her chopsticks in half and picked up a noodle. "I have to stay at home like a good girl and heal sniveling men trying to make a pass at my ass!"

Sweatdropping at the rage Sakura had worked herself into, Ino sipped her broth quietly.

"You could always threaten castration." Ino suggested.

Viridian green darkened. "Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind."

* * *

"Come out Naruto."

The blonde Jinchuuriki stiffened before stepping out form behind the treeline.

"Sasuke."

The Uchiha prodigy glared at his so-called best friend. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

"I'm not going to give up on you!"

Sneering, Sasuke drew his katana. "Then I should kill you now before you interfere with my life anymore than you already have. You'd think you would have taken the hint six months ago but..." His eyes glittered humorously... _dangerously._ "I forgot how stupid you are _usurakontachi._"

"Now, now Sasuke... let's not be hasty." Kakashi stepped out from his hiding place with Sai following right behind him.

"Kakashi. And my replacement." The teen coldly acknowledged.

"Why the hell do you stay with that freak?" Naruto yelled. "What do you have to gain from him?"

"You don't understand."

"Then **make** me understand Sasuke!"

Sighing, Sasuke ran his thumb along the edge of his katana. "Power and strength." He answered absentmindedly. "But I'm stronger than him and I'll kill him when he's at his weakest." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We've been through this before usurakontachi; how many times do I have to say it before it penetrates through your thick skull."

"That's what she said." Sai suddenly remarked.

All heads turned to look at the artist-nin. "What?" The teen smiled cluelessly.

"You... never mind Sai." Kakashi shook his head. "I'll explain later."

Obsidian swept through the members of the Hokage's appointed retrieval squad. "Is this everybody? Where is Sakura?"

"None of your business Emo Prince." Sai smiled again.

Sasuke growled at the nickname. "What. Did. You. Call. Me?"

Sweatdropping, Kakashi stepped in between the two raven-haired males. "Ahahahaha... don't mind me. He doesn't get the whole bubble thing."

"I'm going to kill him."

"You can't!" Naruto jumped in between Kakashi and Sasuke. "Baa-chan has a sweet deal for you!"

"The Hokage can't offer me anything!" Sasuke snarled.

Kakashi leered. "Oh but I think she can."

* * *

"Uchiha? Uchiha Sasuke?"

Irritated, Sadako held her temper in check. "Yes, that's what I said. You know that already."

"Look Little Girl-" Tsunade was obviously rattled. "I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play but Uchiha Sasuke is only fifteen and in no position to be procreating."

_What? What do you mean he's only __fifteen_? Sadako thought. _My father is twenty-nine!_

"Hokage-sama..." She frowned. "What is the today's date and time?"

Tsunade sighed impatiently before answering, "It's Tuesday, March 18th, in the third year of the Godaime. The current time is 6:30 pm. Satisfied Little Girl?"

The Uchiha's breath caught in her throat. When she and the rest of Team Seven had been caught by Orochimaru, it had been around 6:30 pm, March 15th, in the third year of the Rokudaime.

"Oh God..." Sadako groaned and rubbed her temples.

The memories before she woke up in the hospital came rushing back to her. Sadako remembered seeing Orochimaru for the second time in her life, remembered seeing her father, remembered falling, Akihiro and Takashi screaming, remembered that soft voice whispering...

_Fourteen years ago._

"Oh God..." She repeated.

"Hurry it up Little Girl, I don't have all day."

Breathing deep, Sadako tried to sort through everything again and reach a logical conclusion. The last thing she remembered was Orochimaru trying to curse her and the blinding pain, the bright white light that emanated from her necklace and that voice, that soft, girlish voice whispering, whispering, whispering _fourteen years ago._..

"I'm in the past." She realized. "He sent me back in the past..."

Tsunade was surprised to hear her speak. "What?"

Onyx eyes—eyes the Hokage had only seen in Uchiha Sasuke—gazed at her frightfully. "My name is Uchiha Sadako." The girl whispered. "I'm turning thirteen on July 27th. My parents are Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. My Jonin instructor is Hyuuga Neji and my teammates are Mitarashi Akihiro and Yuuhi Takashi. We're Team Seven. And before I ended up in the past, we were in the Forest of Death for the second part of the Chuunin exams."

"I don't belong here."

Tsunade's breath caught in her throat. Seeing this obviously proud child look so lost before her strengthened her hate against her former teammate. Did that bastard have no qualms about using children as a means to further his sick experiments? Obviously not. Look at Mitarashi Anko. Look at Uchiha Sasuke. Look at this girl.

"So he perfected it after all." Tsunade muttered, thinking about the rumors she heard about a time-travel jutsu Orochimaru was supposedly working on.

* * *

Sakura shrugged on her white medical coat and began her evening rounds. So far, everything was in order. The patients were all resting quietly and no one had been complaining of anything.

A boring day at the hospital.

She figured that would all change once Naruto and the ANBU squad he went with returned home. The ANBU couldn't let a mission go buy without someone ending up with injuries. It was a running gag in the Black Ops—if no one was hurt on a mission, then it wasn't an ANBU operation.

Sakura could care less for the joke, except for the fact that it drained her of chakra for a day afterwards and earned her a nice fat bonus from Tsunade-shishou.

Speaking of Shishou, where was she anyways? Sakura looked in her office earlier, wanting to ask for a new medical text to read to pass the boring evening shift, but the Hokage was no where to be found. Shizune-sempai didn't even know where their teacher was.

The next room on her list was heavily guarded by two masked ANBU. She focused her gaze on them, waiting for them to let her pass.

"Am I allowed to pass?" Sakura finally asked when her glare bounced off of them like rain on a poncho.

"Sorry Haruno-sensei." The cat-masked one said. "Tsunade-sama said she has to deal with this patient personally."

A frown creased her brow. "Who is the patient?"

"We don't know. That's classified information. Although, they say the Hokage herself brought the patient in three nights ago. She can't be dangerous; I wouldn't worry too much Haruno-sensei."

"Hmm..." Sakura could hear the voice of her mentor speaking in soft undertones. Straining her ears, she finally picked up on the even softer voice of the patient.

"A girl?" She asked incredulously.

"Like we said," The rabbit-masked ANBU laughed. "We don't know."

How strange.

* * *

Onyx eyes wide, Sasuke almost relaxed his guard.

"What can the Hokage offer me that I can't obtain on my own?"

"Good. You're interested." Kakashi grinned widely.

The teen scowled. "I never said that."

Wagging a finger, Kakashi said, "Not true. You're my student Sasuke; I _know_ you. If you weren't interested, then you would have attacked already. But since you asked a question, it means you are interested."

Sasuke's frown deepened and his grip on Kusanagi tightened. The slight movement did not escape Kakashi's notice.

"The Hogake grants you amnesty, full access to our resources and information, as well as assistance if needed to hunt down Uchiha Itachi." The Jonin hurriedly answered Sasuke's question.

It sounded too good to be true.

"What's the catch?"

This time, Naruto spoke up. "Come home and _stay_ home."

"And sit through your trial like a good little boy." Sai piped up.

"You're not helping Sai!"

* * *

Tsunade frowned. "You're... from the future."

The arrogant gleam had returned to her eyes. "_Yes._" Sadako snapped.

"How did you get here?"

"I told you already." She said irritated. Tsunade couldn't help but be reminded of Uchiha Sasuke when this child became angry. "Orochimaru tried to curse me but before the seal could form, some _light_ erupted from _this"—_She pointed out the necklace around her throat, the one her mother gave her before the Second Exam—"necklace and I ended up here in the hospital fourteen years before."

Tsunade studied the girl for a moment before sighing and drawing up a chair beside the bed. "Don't make me regret this Little Girl, but I'm going to believe you only because I've heard of the forbidden jutsu you spoke of. But I have no idea what to do with you either once you recover from the hospital. You're going to need an alias—people will panic at the sight of anyone bearing the Uchiha fan nowadays. And you can't be a ninja for the time being either—according to our records, you haven't enrolled in the Academy."

Sadako sighed, wanting to throw a fit but her mother's quiet chastisement rang through her head before she made a spectacle of herself. _If there is nothing you can do_, Haruno Sakura often lectured her hot-tempered daughter, _then accept it with grace and dignity._

"I suppose that's alright Hokage-sama." The girl looked down at her hands in her lap. "I guess I can only be grateful that you believe me in the first place. When do I get out of here anyways?"

Tsunade was reminded of her student with that resigned statement. Smiling a little to herself, the Hokage couldn't help but think: _This really is Sakura's daughter... she has that same dignified grace_._ And the Uchiha's kid, trying to escape the hospital as fast as possible. Hopefully, _this_ one will not escape out the window._

"Not for a couple weeks at least." Tsunade finally said. "Things are kinda crazy around here and you're one of our less serious patients. You're going to—for the most part—have to heal on your own. And-"

"Hokage-sama!" A messenger burst into the room, out of breath. "We have an urgent situation here!"

Tsunade stood up and snapped, "What is it Rukia? It better be important."

"It's Team Kakashi, Hokage-sama." The nurse said. "They're back. And they have Uchiha Sasuke with them."

The Hokage swore under her breath. "They were supposed to be _gone_ for another two weeks." She muttered. The woman continued muttering under her breath, but all Sadako caught was, "we are not prepared for this" and "Where is Shizune when I need her? I'm in desperate need for a cup of sake right now."

"I'll be right back Little Girl."

* * *

Sakura was curled up on the couch in the doctor's lounge when Rukia, a nurse at the hospital, burst into the room.

"Haruno-sensei!" The woman cried in relief.

Without looking up from her manga, Sakura absentmindedly corrected her. "It's Sakura, Rukia-san."

"Sakura-sensei!" Rukia corrected. "Did you hear the news?"

_That_ caught her attention. "Was I supposed to hear the news?"

"Well, probably not." The nurse answered sheepishly. "But I think you of all people would have known already since it is your team and all."

_My team...?_

"Are Naruto and the others back already?" Sakura rose from her seat and put the book down on the table. "I thought they were supposed to be gone for a while..."

Nodding vigorously, Rukia answered, "That's what Tsunade-sama said too. She's in her office with Team Kakashi right now but she wants you to look over the ANBU squad that went with them and do a routine checkup. One of them was complaining of stomach pains when they arrived."

"Hn." Sakura hummed to herself, sounding uncannily like her old teammate and the boy she never really got over. "I guess I'll go check them out. Thanks Rukia-san." She strode across the room to the door, pulling on her lab coat as she went.

"No problem Sakura-sensei! I'm sure you're excited to see them, with Uchiha Sasuke back and all."

Her grip on the handle slipped. "Wha-wha-what? _Uchiha Sasuke_ is _here?_"

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke, tied in a neat bundle, sat in a chair across from the one other teen he would have, had it not been for the unfavorable circumstances, called his best friend.

"Sasuke…. Teme…. Have no idea how much you worried me…" Naruto began to say, the first real words Naruto had to say to him outside the Hokage's prearranged bargain.

"Naruto… Dobe…. You have no idea how much you've pissed me off." Sasuke snapped. "I told you I'd go with you; are the ropes really necessary? If I knew you were going to tie me up and treat me like a common criminal, then maybe I should have stayed with Orochimaru instead."

"Maybe it's because we don't know what your word means anymore!" Naruto yelled back.

"What do you mean you don't know what my word is worth anymore? I'm an avenger; the promises I make have to be kept. Revenge is the only promise you know I will keep, the only promise I will do _anything_ in order to achieve. Dobe, is it so hard to understand my revenge? Don't you understand that I have to put all of their souls to rest? Do you?"

"SHUT UP TEME!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU DOBE!"

"NOT IF I GET TO YOU FIRST SASUKE!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP NARUTO!"

"WHY DON'T YOU-"

"Ahem."

The two sixteen-year-olds looked up and glared at the source of the interruption, which happened to be the Hokage herself. Tsunade threw an equally dangerous and intimidating glare back and called over her shoulder, "Shizune! When I'm done with these two, make sure to bring me the strongest sake possible! This is too much for today!"

The Godaime sat behind her desk and rested her chin on her folded hands. "Report Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi stood up straight, his orange novel tucked away out of sight. "Team Kakashi has successfully retrieved and persuaded Uchiha Sasuke, nukenin of Konohagakure no Sato, to return to his home village. He is willing to stand on trial in exchange for amnesty and assistance with the execution and termination of Uchiha Itachi."

The Hokage turned her gaze to the bound occupant in the room. Sasuke stared at her emotionlessly.

"Hmmm… so the Uchiha-gaki finally decided to return home. Anything you've got to say to save your sorry ass, Uchiha?"

Sasuke glared at the Hokage. "I don't like you."

Tsunade grinned. "Your trial's in two weeks. If the Council and I find enough reason and cause to execute you, there goes your revenge Uchiha. It's a pity your clan's going to die out because of your selfish desires. Your brother's as good as dead as soon as he killed the first Uchiha that night several years ago Sasuke. Don't think the Uchiha name will live on forever."

Tsunade stood up and made a move to leave her office. "Start thinking about your answers, Uchiha Sasuke. They alone will decide whether you can carry out your revenge or not."

* * *

-A week later-

Sadako focused her Sharingan eyes onto the ceiling and began to draw shapes in the cracks of the cement. A sudden noise startled the girl and her eyes quickly spun back to black as the Hokage entered the room.

"You need a name."

Sadako looked up in surprise. "You're seriously letting me stay?"

Tsunade sat down in the chair beside the bed and nodded. "Why so surprised? I said you could stay when you first came in here. Anyways, if things work out, next week I should have for you a private shinobi instructor and a guardian until you turn sixteen. But it is imperative that we decide on your name and your cover story or else you can't continue being a ninja."

Sadako turned away from the Godaime and stared out the window. Her eyes caught sight of the Uchiha fan glittering around her neck. Fingering the pendant, Sadako's sensitive fingers found the grooves of a spiraling leaf on the back of the fan.

"Chirasen. Chirasen Sadako. I'm an orphan diagnosed with a slight case of amnesia, the only things I remember were my training as a kunoichi and my name. I'm from a small shinobi village in Hi no Kuni that pledges their allegiance to Konoha."

Tsunade clapped her hands together. "Excellent. There's no information that could possibly give you away as a fake. But," Tsunade reached around the girl's neck to unclasp her necklace, "I'll have to take this."

Sadako made a face as she remembered the promise she swore to her mother about the Uchiha necklace. _But I suppose it's for a good reason…_

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke stared broodily at the walls of his prison. The faint clanging of steel bars alerted his mind that he had a visitor, but he paid no heed to the warning.

_Grant you amnesty, information and assistance... my ass. All they've done is lock me up. What the hell was I thinking, going with Naruto and Kakashi like that? And... "if the Council finds cause to execute you," what the fuck is up with that? Freakin' hypocrites._

"Sasuke-kun."

That annoying familiar and sweet voice floated across his thoughts and the teen scowled in irritation.

"Sakura."

The kunoichi took that as an invitation to hesitantly step forward into the cell. "It's been a while Sasuke-kun."

The teen snorted. "You saw me six months ago Sakura. Remember? With Naruto and that kid."

Sakura's face scrunched up into a frown. "So? We didn't get to talk. All you did was insult me and brush me aside. Like you usually do Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke sat up and faced the girl. "Are you going to give me the 'friendship and loyalty' lecture or are you going to tell me about how I could've gotten strong here in Konoha? Save it if you are; Naruto already gave it."

Sakura shook her head. "No. I just came by while I was out on errands for my mom."

The two teens sat in silence. Sakura fidgeted in her place before she stuck her hand in a grocery bag and threw a red object across the cell to Sasuke.

"I'm sure this is the only decent thing you've had to eat in a while. See you later Sasuke-kun." She said before she turned on heel and left the ANBU Holding Facility.

Sasuke stared at the object Sakura threw to him before she left. He grinned faintly and took a bite out of the red fruit.

Tomatoes were, after all, his favorite food.

* * *

-The Night Before the Trial-

"Naruto."

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki turned around from his precarious perch on his porch and looked at the coral-haired medic who called his name.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Sakura sighed as she moved to stand beside her friend.

"Who? Sasuke? He'll be fine. Have a bit of faith." Naruto dismissed with a wave of his hand.

Sakura bit down on her lip and frowned. "He seems… upset. Being back here in Konoha with us."

Naruto stared at Sakura in disbelief. "But isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that what I wanted? To bring Sasuke back to Konoha to be with us?"

"Yeah, it's what we've always wanted and strived for, but what about him? Did we really make the wrong choice to try, and in your case, succeed, to bring him back?"

Naruto hugged Sakura in a brotherly embrace. "Have a little faith. You never know—Sasuke could surprise us with the answers he gives."

* * *

The hours before his trial, both Naruto and Sakura dropped by his cell to offer some words of encouragement. Although he had worn his usual mask of indifference, Sasuke was horribly nervous and was reduced to easing his worries by playing a one-sided game of catch with the brand-new tomato that Sakura had brought with her.

"Uchiha—it's time to go." One ANBU guard said gruffly as he undid the seal on his cell.

Sasuke stood up and stretched his screaming muscles. He would face this as another part of training, another obstacle he must face before Itachi would die.

Suddenly, as if by magic, Uchiha Sasuke wasn't so nervous anymore.

* * *

Sadako sat in the back of the trial room, hidden in the shadows. She watched with interest as she saw a younger version of her mother and Naruto-oji-sama take their places in the front row.

_Okaa-sama and Naruto-oji-sama look so nervous…_

"All arise for the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama." A voice called from the front of the room.

Sadako stood up along with the rest of the audience. She could spot many familiar faces among the crowd gathered.

_Is that Kakashi-ojii-sama? Kami-sama, he's on time…_

"We will begin the hearing and questioning of Uchiha Sasuke, traitor of Konohagakure no Sato and student of the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru." Tsunade announced.

The doors at the back burst open and two ANBU Black Ops escorted the man whose features mirrored her own.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Sadako could only gape at the man. This was her father? The resemblance was too remarkable to be a lie but still…

Sadako shuddered as she remembered that this was the face that Orochimaru had worn when she last saw him. The sickly golden eyes were absent from the teen's face, but she couldn't help the note of fear that entered her heart when she saw Uchiha Sasuke.

"State your name." Tsunade commanded.

The teen looked up and coldly answered, "Uchiha Sasuke."

The trial had begun.

* * *

Sakura could only wring her hands in worry and anticipation as the list of questions became harder and more thought-provoking. The last question, "What sort of missions were you given as Orochimaru's pupil" had certainly gotten her worried and she could feel Naruto tense beside her.

Sasuke coolly looked at the questioner. "None."

The audience whispered in amazement. None? No missions what so ever? Then how on earth could he hone the skills that the Sannin had so diligently taught him if he could not employ them while on missions?

"It was too risky, according to Kabuto and Orochimaru. They were afraid that someone would kidnap me or I wouldn't come back if I left Otogakure. Besides, most people knew that Orochimaru had chosen me as his next host." Sasuke explained, his eyes not leaving Naruto's face.

Naruto grinned as he understood the hidden message. _I'm that big of a risk factor in that Snake's plans huh?_

Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief. So far so good. The impassive look on Tsunade-shishou's face had shown consideration for the Uchiha's release.

"Sasuke—I know you don't want to die. So let me ask you this-" Tsunade suddenly said.

Naruto became tense once again at the prospect of another deciding factor in Sasuke's sentence.

"Would you have gone to Orochimaru if the factor of revenge was not involved? Even if Uchiha Itachi had massacred the entire Uchiha clan and took everything away from you, even if Orochimaru had given you that heaven seal, even if you were pathetically defeated by Uchiha Itachi, would you have gone?"

Sakura closed her jade-green eyes and struggled not to cry. She knew that this was it. If Sasuke-kun did not answer this one question in favor of the Council's opinion, he would die.

Naruto sensed her distress and quietly embraced her, hiding her from the world. Sakura buried her face in his shoulder, hoping that this was all just a bad dream.

Sasuke glanced at his former teammates and caught Naruto's eye.

_You know what to do, Sasuke-baka._

"Well?"

Sasuke looked up at the Godaime Hokage and studied those honey-amber orbs. There was a definite sign of uncertainty in them, hesitancy to kill.

"Hokage-sama, if revenge was not a factor, then I wouldn't be questioned in this very room, now would I? If revenge was not a factor, I could have been doing something worth my time, like learning a new jutsu from Kakashi or sparring with Naruto or Sakura, right now."

Tsunade invisibly smiled and nodded. "Trial adjourned until noon."

Naruto smiled and squeezed Sakura's hand reassuringly.

Things were starting to look up.

* * *

Sadako was amazed that no one had noticed a thirteen-year-old girl such as herself attending the trial without her parents present. Well, if you wanted to be technical, they were, but not in the sense that they were acting as parental figures.

"Ichiraku! Here I come!" a joyful voice sang before the owner crashed into her.

Sadako swayed and crashed into the stair railing, her side stinging painfully. "Itai…"

"Naruto! You baka, you crashed into some poor little girl! Here, does it hurt?"

Sadako looked up into the concerned face of Haruno Sakura. "I'm fine." She muttered.

Sakura sighed. "I'm really sorry about my friend. He tends to get a little excited when it comes to ramen."

The girl shook her head. "It's fine. I'm not dead yet so it's okay."

Sakura smiled at her and asked, "What's your name? What are you doing here by the Hokage Tower? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

The Uchiha looked up in surprise, but she quickly concealed it. "Um… I'm the Hokage's charge for now. She told me that she'd assign someone to be my guardian until I'm sixteen this afternoon. I just got released from the hospital yesterday, two weeks earlier than expected, so I'm just hanging around the trial room until the Hokage sends for me."

The older girl sighed. "It's a pity about your parents. But I suppose that since Tsunade-shishou is taking care of you for now, you'll be in good hands in the future."

Sakura smiled and waved to the girl before she started after a whining Naruto. "I've got to go—Naruto here will explode if he doesn't get his ramen soon enough. By the way, I'm Haruno Sakura. Look me up if you're ever bored again, okay?"

Sadako mutely nodded and watched her retreating figure. The girl suddenly smirked to herself.

_I never did tell her my name…_

* * *

Sasuke silently surveyed the crowd coming into the trial room. Sakura and Naruto waved to him as they passed by, but he only mutely nodded in return. A little girl with raven hair like his own caught his eye among the crowd, but she was gone before Sasuke had a chance to study her closely.

"We will resume the hearing of Uchiha Sasuke now."

Sasuke looked up and realized that the Council had a piece of paper in their hands. That paper held the reasons if he was allowed to carry out his revenge or not.

"According to a previous testimony by Mitarashi Anko, the cursed heaven seal takes your greatest desire and distorts your memories concerning that desire, so that there is a little voice in your mind constantly reminding you how weak and worthless you are, unless you sought power from Orochimaru."

"Mitarashi Anko was also a missing-nin for a while, also under the tutelage of Orochimaru, albeit for different reasons. The Council has declared her innocent of all the charges against her."

Sasuke struggled not to roll his eyes. _What has this got to do with me? Hurry it up…_

"We, the Council, have deemed Uchiha Sasuke's case to be like that of Mitarashi Anko's. We are dropping all of the charges against him."

In the crowd, Naruto cheered and said to Sakura, "He did it, Sakura-chan! He did it! I told you to have a little faith!"

_Have a little faith? Did Sakura give up on me already?_ Sasuke mused.

"But…" Naruto quieted, worry replacing excitement on his face.

"He will serve a two-year probation, until he is eighteen. Uchiha Sasuke is banned from leaving the village without the express permission of the Hokage. He is not allowed to go on missions until further notice."

"Uchiha Sasuke will be under the eye of Team Kakashi, consisting of Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. The living arrangements will be discussed with you later with the Hokage after the hearing."

"Also, as another test to prove his loyalty, the Hokage has given Uchiha Sasuke the responsibility of a Genin charge. He will instruct her in the shinobi arts and be her guardian until she is sixteen. The two will be supervised by someone from Team Kakashi and by Hyuuga Hinata or Hyuuga Neji. This will also be further discusses at the Hokage's office at a later time today."

Tsunade looked up from the paper and smiled at Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. "Trial adjourned."

* * *

"Sasuke-kun! You did it! I was so worried, I wouldn't know what to do if they decided to execute you." Sakura squealed as she gave the Uchiha a tight hug.

Sasuke did not push her away, only gave her a look and said, "Sakura—I can't breathe."

Naruto laughed and punched Sasuke in the arm. "Tsunade-baa-chan had me worried when she said 'but.' I thought that she was gonna execute you anyways!"

"Dobe, why the hell would she drop all the charges against me then execute me? It's illegal in our justice system."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Who do you think your Genin charge is gonna be?"

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Oh I know! It's probably that little girl you ran into on the stairway Naruto. She did say that Tsunade-shishou was going to assign her a guardian this afternoon."

"What's her name and what did she look like?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Sakura put a finger on her lip. "Hmm... oh! She had pale skin, long dark raven hair, and onyx-black eyes. I asked her for her name, but she didn't tell me. She said that her parents had recently passed and judging by her hitae-ate, she probably came from one of the smaller shinobi villages that pledges their loyalty to Konoha."

The threesome walked into the Hokage's office and were greeted by her assistant, Shizune. Kakashi was already there, leaning against the wall deeply absorbed in his reading.

"Have a seat, Tsunade-hime will be with you shortly. She's just stepped out to get someone and we'll discuss everything then." Shizune said.

Five minutes later, the door burst open and the Hokage herself walked in, dragging a small girl behind her by the wrist.

"Hokage-sama, I can walk on my own." the childish voice scowled.

Sakura's ears perked up. "Hey—you're that little girl that I talked to earlier today!"

The girl turned around and met Sakura's happy gaze with one of indifference. "Haruno-sensei."

Sasuke studied the girl and smirked to himself. True to Sakura's earlier description, she did have pale skin, raven hair and onyx eyes. She looked like someone who was used to harsh trainings and hard work and that alone was guaranteed to have this strange little girl on his list of tolerable people. Sasuke especially liked the cold look in her eyes. He knew that she could kill, without hesitation. If this was his Genin charge, Sasuke knew that he would get along perfectly fine with her.

"What's your name?" Sasuke asked her coolly.

The girl glared at him. "You know, it's more polite to give your name first before you ask for someone else's"

Sasuke smirked. Ah, an attitude. They were getting along great.

Naruto gasped and pointed at the girl. "Hey, hey, hey... where have I heard that before?"

Everyone in the room ignored Naruto as he tried to remember where he had heard that phrase in the past.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I'm waiting for an answer, little girl."

She sighed impatiently and said, "Chirasen Sadako. And I'm not a little girl, yarou."

The room went deathly silent, even Kakashi had stopped his reading and looked up at Sadako in awe.

"You- I mean, how- well that is- YOU JUST INSULTED UCHIHA SASUKE!" Naruto yelled. He bounded over to the Genin and gave her a tight hug.

"Gah! What are you doing?"

"We're going to be the best of friends Sadako-chan!" Naruto squealed.

"Sadako-chan? Who the hell gave you permission to call me that?" Sadako yelled. "Anyways, who the hell are you? I'm just about ready to call you a pedophile for attacking me like that!"

Naruto let go of her and stared at her, fake tears welling up in his eyes. "Wahh! Sakura-chan! Sadako-chan thinks I'm a pedophile!"

Sasuke hit him over the head. "Tch. Get over it dobe."

"Uzumaki Naruto-sama at your service, Sadako-chan! I'm going to be the next Hokage when Tsunade-baa-chan retires!" Naruto suddenly yelled.

Sadako punched him in the head. "You're so noisy. How does Haruno-sensei and Uchiha-sensei live with you everyday?"

"We don't, Chirasen. We're only going to start living together this week. Isn't that right, Tsunade?" Sasuke said emotionlessly.

The Hokage nodded. "We have arrangements for the four of you to live in a house within walking distance of the hospital and the Academy. Don't worry about the expenses; it's been taken care of by the Council."

"Also, Uchiha, you will start training Sadako. Teach her anything you like, but Naruto or Sakura and one of the Hyuuga I mentioned earlier has to be present. Naruto, Sakura—I'm expecting a full and detailed report from you every week about what Uchiha teaches her. We don't want a second Orochimaru developing, now do we?"

Sasuke scowled. "What's that supposed to mean, Tsunade? I am not Orochimaru."

The Godaime shrugged. "Precautions by the Council. By the way, if Hinata or Neji have any reason to suspect that you are training Sadako to be your tool for revenge against Konoha for the... unorthodox methods we used regarding your imprisonment, they will close the tenketsu and bring you to me. Only, I don't think I'll be so lenient the next time."

Tsunade clapped her hands together. "I think that's everything. Shizune will give you directions to the house."

* * *

Author's Note:

The tail end of this chapter isn't much different from the original but... *smiles innocently*

I will try my hardest to update with a new one at least once every two weeks but... you know how it is. Or at least, my faithful readers who have followed me through my erratic writings all over the site, you know how _I_ am. *sigh*

Ja ne!

Callista Miralni


	3. Training with Sasuke

Spiral

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer:... nothing. Except Sadako.

To my betas for the first half of this chapter,** Meiza** and **Jiade-103**: thank you for all your help three years ago when this chapter was first posted.

* * *

Chapter Three: Training with Sasuke

-Present Time-

Haruno Sakura waited anxiously at the center tower for Konoha's Rookie Team Seven to arrive. The exam had been stopped, by orders of Hyuuga Hanabi and the Rokudaime, and all teams were to report at the tower immediately, regardless of if they had both ribbons or not.

On the horizon, Sakura saw the familiar figures of Mitarashi Akihiro and Yuuhi Takashi being supported by their Jounin instructor. Sakura flew towards the group and searched Neji's face anxiously.

"What happened? Their injuries must be treated right away!" Sakura exclaimed, preparing to heal both Genin on the spot. To her surprise, Neji shook his head.

"Wait awhile Sakura-san. They are the whole reason why the exam is being stopped."

Sakura froze and watched Neji bring both the boys into the tower's medical attention room. Then, a painful realization came to the Medic-Nin.

Her precious daughter was not with them.

* * *

Naruto stood on the tower's rooftop and clenched his fist.

"Orochimaru..." he growled out.

"You will pay for taking my niece, my best friend, and for ruining the lives of the people most important to me!"

In the dark shadows of the stairway behind him, a certain Uzumaki-Hyuuga Hinata watched her husband sorrowfully, her heart breaking into a million pieces along with his own heart.

_Sada-chan_...

* * *

Sakura stood in the med room, staring out the window, her mind in a blank shock. Sasuke, or rather, Orochimaru, was here and now her precious Sadako was missing.

Did the Snake take her with him?

No, that couldn't be right. Akihiro and Takashi both said that Sadako had disappeared in a bright light after Orochimaru bit the girl on the neck. But Sakura was slightly reassured that her daughter did not have the Heaven Seal. Sasuke had taken measures to make sure of that, although what they were and when he put them in place, Sakura did not know.

"Sakura-sensei... gomen nasai."

Sakura turned around in surprise. "For what, Akihiro-kun? There wasn't much you two could do against Orochimaru."

The boy shook his head. "Iie, not that Sakura-sensei. I'm sorry for not being strong enough. Sadako always worked so hard for her strength and now she's gone."

Sakura smiled faintly at the boy's sincerity. "Arigato Akihiro-kun. But don't worry, we'll get her back, somehow."

* * *

-Meanwhile, fourteen years ago...-

Sadako opened her eyes and tried to ignore the gentle wash of pink sunlight on her face. Catching a sleepy glimpse of her clock, Sadako noted the time to be 5:45 am.

_5:45... huh... it's Wednesday... maybe I can sleep in... oh shit... it's 5:45... Uchiha-sensei will kill me..._

Scrambling out from under the covers, Sadako swore again as she tripped on the sheet entangled around her ankles. Rummaging through her closet for something decent to wear, Sadako finally pulled out a red Mandarin-collared short-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of black Capri's. She slipped her sandals on and tied her hitae-ate around her head as she ran down the stairs.

"Oof!" the girl muttered as she ran into something solid. Looking up, she found none other Uzumaki Naruto staring at her sleepily.

"O-ha-yo..." the teen muttered between yawns.

"Ohayo gozaimasu Uzumaki-sama." Sadako greeted politely.

Naruto's head snapped up and he looked at the younger girl pointedly. "Naruto. My name's Naruto. Use it, will you? You don't have to use keigo around me Sadako-chan."

"Er... Naruto-sama???" Sadako tried out.

"No... you're still using keigo Sadako-chan. If you have to give me a title, then call me Naruto-nii-san. Same goes to everyone else in my age group, okay? Geez, kid, you're so freakin' formal!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sadako made a face. Her mother brought her up to be polite and the girl found that her use of keigo had lessened the glares and whispers that followed her since birth. She couldn't help it—it was a habit despite her unusually sharp tongue.

"Well excuse me for trying to be polite. I found that it's gonna get me a lot farther in life if I use keigo, Naruto-nii-san." she snapped back. "By the way, where's Uchiha-sensei?"

"Here." Sasuke said coldly from the top of the stairs. "I'm surprised, Chirasen. I half-expected to have to wake you up in the morning."

"Ohayo gozaimasu Uchiha-sensei." Sadako replied just as coldly as her teacher did.

Naruto groaned. "I give up with you Sadako-chan."

* * *

After a light breakfast of onigiri, which Naruto protested loudly to and Sadako didn't say anything about the meal choice, Sasuke took his student and teammate to Training Ground Three.

"This brings back memories doesn't it Sasuke?" Naruto said, grinning as he flung a kunai towards the wooden post.

"Hn..." The other teen replied, twirling a kunai around one finger.

The silence was deafening until a rustle from the trees broke it. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san, and... what's your name?"

Sadako looked up at the teen. She had long navy-blue hair and pale pupil-less lavender eyes. The girl recognized her to be her Hinata-oba-sama.

"Chirasen Sadako. Who are you?" the girl replied, pretending to be ignorant.

"Hyuuga Hinata. It's an honor to meet you Chirasen-san." Hinata bowed.

Sadako smiled slightly. "Hyuuga-sama, please call me Sadako. It sounds awkward that you are the only one to call me by my family name when everyone else calls me by my given name."

"Hey! Why are you so nice to Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan but not me?" Naruto interjected.

The Uchiha girl gave him a glare. "Because you were acting like a pedophile and I don't like you as much as I like them. Face it, Naruto-nii-san, you're not as cool as they are."

Sasuke cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "You know how to control your chakra right?"

Sadako scowled. "Of course I do—I graduated the number one rookie of my class."

Sasuke regarded her coldly. "Prove it to me then. Climb a tree using only your feet."

The Genin sighed and formed the Sign of the Ram. The dust around her feet puffed up in a cloud and Sadako began to climb the tree.

"Ha! She's better than you were when you first started out Sasuke!" Naruto cried gleefully.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She's been a ninja for a while dobe. This isn't her first time doing this. And you're being distracting. Go over and sit by Hyuuga—she'll keep you under control hopefully."

Up at the top of the tree, Sadako panted slightly. She had decent chakra control—she knew that much—but she still had a long ways to go if she could ever compare to her mother's. She waited patiently for Sasuke to begin teaching her.

"I suppose you've got a good grip on the basics. You probably want to expand your library of jutsu and work on stamina, correct?" Sasuke said from behind her.

Sadako spun around, startled. She hadn't even seen him move. Her sensei's speed was remarkable and she knew from old childhood stories that his skill surpassed even his teacher's. Not Orochimaru's, although it was true, but Kakashi-ojii-sama's. Sasuke's true teacher.

Sasuke smirked at the girl's startled reaction. She was good. Anybody else would have thought her as being indifferent, but he knew the truth. It was in her eyes.

"Uchiha-sensei, what will you teach me today?" Sadako dared to ask.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Tell me Sadako, as you've insisted, how do you feel about snakes?"

Sadako's onyx eyes blazed with hate. "He should die."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke stared at the girl curiously. _A personal vendetta against Orochimaru?_

"Snakes are mine to control, Uchiha-sensei. They should obey my commands or suffer the consequences." Sadako amended coldly.

Sasuke smirked. It was time for the real fun to begin.

* * *

Sakura looked up from the bubbling pot when she heard the front door slam open and shut. Glancing up at the clock, Sakura noted the time to be 5:15 pm. If anything, that should've been Sasuke, Sadako, and Naruto coming home from the first training session.

"Okaeri nasa- Kami-sama! What happened to Sadako-san?" Sakura said in surprise.

"Chakra exhaustion." Sasuke grunted as he slid the unconscious girl on his back onto the couch.

"Sasuke decided to teach her the Kuchiyose no Jutsu right off the bat. Sada-chan signed the contract with the snakes and everything." Naruto said. Sakura froze in her tracks.

"She signed a contract with _snakes? Willingly?_" Sakura demanded to know. "Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "Beats me. She even said something about having snakes under her control or the snakes will suffer the consequences."

"I think she has a vendetta against Orochimaru." Sasuke answered bluntly.

Sakura sighed and placed her hand on the girl's forehead. "She doesn't have a fever. Let her sleep and she'll be fine in the morning. Only, work on taijutsu tomorrow okay Sasuke? Give her some time to recover chakra." The medic covered the girl with a blanket and led her boys into the kitchen.

"By the way, dinner is served."

Naruto sat down gleefully and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "What's to eat, Sakura-chan?"

"Beef udon. And Sasuke, there's a bag of tomatoes for you in the fridge to snack on." Sakura answered.

"Aww... Sakura-chan, did you buy any instant ramen?"

The teen glared at him. "No. I'm going to put some nutrition into you while you're in _my_ house. Eat ramen outside the house but if you're in _my house_, _you will eat proper food._ Got it Naruto?"

He quailed under her stare. "Ha- hai, Sakura-chan."

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes and let his vision adjust to the darkness. It was about four forty-five in the morning and the sun had not risen yet. He thought about going back to sleep, but then he remembered that he was supposed to be teaching that girl.

Sadako. Chirasen Sadako. Translated literally, Chirasen meant "a thousand spirals" while Sadako was "chaste child." What an odd name for a ninja—it was too poetic, like Haruno Sakura's.

Sasuke didn't want to waste his time teaching, but he knew he had no choice. If he ever wanted to kill Itachi, then he had to be a good boy and follow the Hokage's orders. It wasn't so bad though. Sadako wasn't anything like Naruto and Sakura were when they were twelve. She was darker in personality, more mature and quiet. She didn't need a whole lot of instruction, just someone to tell her the basics, the hand signs, and to correct her for a mistake.

The girl was a perfectionist, but she lacked the initiative to ask for help when needed. It was going to be her biggest flaw, Sasuke could already tell, and pride was going to do his student no good. She was gifted in her own right, but Sadako was nothing against himself.

Sasuke looked at the clock again and got out of bed. It was already five and the sun was beginning to rise.

* * *

Downstairs, at the same exact moment Sasuke was musing about his student, Haruno Sakura was in the kitchen, making and drinking tea. She was awake two hours earlier than expected, but Sakura couldn't sleep anymore. The nightmares that she thought would disappear when Sasuke returned home still continued to plague her at night, even worse than before.

Sakura took a sip of the matcha tea and shuddered slightly. Orochimaru was not dead. He was still looking for Sasuke.

And that's what worried her the most.

* * *

"The _Shishi Rendan_ is a taijutsu move that can only be accomplished through speed. The very first part of the combo is the Dancing Leaf Shadow, the manipulation of your opponent's movement. The second part is the rapid succession of punches and kicks. Lastly, you slam your opponent to the ground with a drop kick on the abdomen. Usually by this time, your opponent has been rendered helpless through the first two movements of the combo."

Sadako lay on the ground, wheezing from the lack of air. Sasuke was cruel enough to use the Shishi Rendan on his student as demonstration, much to Sakura's horror. She had caught the Genin right before she slammed into the ground and healed her injuries.

"Hai Sasuke-sensei." She gasped out.

Sasuke regarded the girl coolly. "Get up Sadako. You won't be able to do the Shishi Rendan today. We're going to work on speed."

The Genin groaned. It wasn't fair. If she hadn't been forbidden by the Hokage not to reveal her Sharingan, then she knew she would have been able to do that taijutsu move by the time dinner came around. But Sasuke-sensei did have a point: Sadako knew she desperately had to work on her speed.

A little bit away from the main area of the training grounds, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten and Sakura observed the teacher-student pair.

"They're an interesting combination. I never thought I'd see the day when Uchiha Sasuke would be teaching Genin." Tenten remarked casually as she threw a kunai at a nearby tree.

"Uchiha's a decent teacher. I'm surprised." Neji grunted. "The girl's pretty talented herself. She managed to last ten minutes against Uchiha before getting her ass handed to her by the Shishi Rendan."

Sakura beamed. "Sadako-chan is so good for Sasuke. She listens to him and respects him, regardless of what she heard during his trial. Besides, Tsunade-shishou told me that teaching is a humbling experience."

Tenten whipped her head around to face her fellow Chuunin. "Sadako-san was at Uchiha's trial? Why?"

Sakura shrugged. "I dunno. I guess Tsunade-shishou allowed her to attend 'cause she was part of Sasuke's punishment."

"Faster. My grandmother could catch up with you." Sasuke said boredly.

"Your grandmother couldn't catch up with me in the first place." Sadako snapped.

Her teacher froze and the world seemed to freeze with him. The girl's words echoed harshly in his mind. He knew he was over-reacting but before he could stop, Sasuke found himself eye-level with his student, eyes spinning Sharingan red with his hand tightly clutching the collar of her navy shirt.

"I dare you to say that again Chirasen Sadako."

The girl winced as the reality of her words crashed upon him. Itachi-oji-san was still alive even back in her own time fourteen years later. Itachi-oji-san was the whole reason why she didn't have Uchiha grandparents to begin with.

Sadako hesitated. If she apologized, Sasuke-sensei would let her go but he would make her suffer the consequences now. If she punched Sasuke-sensei in the face, he would also let her go in his surprise but that would also mean an even more horrible punishment later.

There was no doubt in her choice.

"Gomen nasai Sasuke-sensei. That was tactless and rude of me to say such a thing." Sadako bowed her head.

Sasuke released her and stood up from his crouching position. "Five laps around Konoha, Sadako. You're going to do those laps in ten minutes."

The girl's head shot up in surprise and she released the breath that she had been unconsciously holding.

"Get moving Chirasen. The sun will set in ten minutes and Sakura wants you home after dark."

"I never said that." Sakura said quietly to Tenten.

The other kunoichi grinned. "Maybe Uchiha has feelings after all."

* * *

Sakura sat on the upstairs porch reading the medical text that she was sure Tsunade-shishou was going to quiz her on tomorrow. She was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't notice Sasuke had walked out onto the porch and had taken a seat beside her.

"You shouldn't be up this late Sasuke. You still have to teach tomorrow."

"And the next day and the days after that for three years. I'll go to bed whenever I want Sakura." Sasuke answered dryly, mentally taking note of the lack of the suffix that usually followed his name.

Sakura looked up from her text in surprise. "Um... Did you come out here for any reason?"

Silence. Sasuke was still too busy looking up at the starry night sky.

"She's not that bad huh? Sadako, I mean." Sakura tried again to start up a conversation.

"Aa." That cursed silence followed afterwards. Then-

"Her pride will be her downfall."

Sakura giggled and lightly punched Sasuke in the arm. "Mou, that's unfair for you to say. You were the most arrogant out of the three of us. And I'm sure that in Sound you were so used to having your way too."

Sasuke looked at her, his gaze unreadable. He stood up suddenly and turned to leave the porch. Sakura bit her lip. She was afraid that she had said the wrong thing and made the Uchiha clam up again.

"At least I'm trying to stop someone else from being ruined by Orochimaru."

Sakura stared at the glass door in shock. She smiled faintly and recalled Tenten's words from the afternoon.

"_Maybe Uchiha has feelings after all."_

"Yes, Tenten, maybe Sasuke does show how he feels after all."

* * *

"Why did you do it?"

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. "Do what Kakashi?"

For once, _Icha Icha_ was nowhere to be seen. "Do all of that. Why would you go through the trouble of offering Sasuke a deal you didn't know you could keep? Why would you try and bring him home after the first attempt failed?"

She knew that someone was going to ask sooner or later. After her initial meeting with Sadako, Tsunade found a slim book in the Hokage vault, one titled _Owari no Chirasen_. It was a journal in which Uchiha Mikoto penned an intricate story about a child destined to live in an endless spiral, a constant time flux. Unfortunately, the Uchiha matron never finished the tale before her death.

However, what struck Tsunade as odd was the additional writing in a different hand than Mikoto's that appeared one blank page after Mikoto's incomplete fairy tale. Whoever had this book next found it prudent to write the date and a number after it in the corner of each entry. The journal would flow fluidly for a time before it would restart at the beginning and tell the same story over, with a slight variation. The dates the entries were written would never change but the number after would.

But what really gave Tsunade chills was the time frame in which these entries were written.

As a matter of fact, the first entry of each "cycle" as Tsunade called it, was dated a year after today.

"I have my reasons." The Hokage answered cryptically, palming the journal sitting on her desk. "But for now... just concentrate on healing the scars in Sasuke's heart. He can't hate forever."

That was Kakashi's cue to leave but the Jounin refused to budge.

"What about the girl? What were your reasons for giving Sasuke such a high responsibility when you can't even trust him enough to send him on missions?"

Rubbing her temples, Tsunade glared at Kakashi. "Sasuke will pass on everything he learned from Orochimaru to her, guaranteed. In effect, the Council decided that Chirasen Sadako will be the arrow to pierce Sasuke should he decide to abandon the village again. And in the case that Orochimaru murders Sasuke for returning to Konoha, Sadako will be the tip of the sword to tear Orochimaru to pieces."

"You're training a child to be a weapon for the village." Kakashi stated sadly.

Laughing, Tsunade said, "Isn't that what we all are? From a young age, shinobi are trained to kill—all for the sake of our village."

"But not like Sadako-san." Kakashi turned to leave. "You're allowing her to become a weapon of vengeance. I though that you, of all people, would have never allowed her to become like Sasuke. That's what Itachi did to his baby brother after all—told him to become a weapon of hate and vengeance against him."

Kakashi's words struck a nerve in the woman. "Damn it Kakashi! Do you honestly think_ I_ had something to do with this? The Council refused to let Uchiha off the hook unless Sadako served that purpose. In a way, you owe some sick gratitude to the girl; without her, Sasuke would be a corpse."

"If you really want to stop Sadako from becoming a tool of revenge, why don't you try and teach her how to feel, Kakashi. That way, you can make sure she won't follow down Sasuke's dark path."

Kakashi paused at the door frame and smiled slightly. "But Sasuke came back. And that's all the proof I need to know he's not lost in the dark forever."

* * *

The pink head poked around the door.

"You called Shishou?" Her beloved protege asked.

Tsunade beckoned her into her office and downed another cup of sake. "Sakura." The woman said gravely. "I need to tell you something. This stays between us, okay?"

The girl stiffened. "Of course Shishou."

Gesturing for her to take a seat, Tsunade rested her chin atop her folded hands. "Make sure you keep Sadako within your sight at all times."

Startled by the commanded, Sakura started to protest. "Shishou, Sadako-san is a growing girl. She needs freedom to move throughout the village or she might lash out like Sasuke."

She just wasn't getting it—Tsunade sighed. "Look." She tried a different approach. "I'm not saying you have to keep her under house arrest. Just make sure you know who she's with and where she's at. Don't let her wander by herself."

"Sadako-san is capable of taking care of herself. And this is _Konoha_; what could happen in Konoha that could endanger a Genin?" Sakura retorted, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Orochimaru." Tsunade finally said. "I have reasons to suspect Orochimaru may try and kidnap the girl. Possibly kill her."

Her student's breath hitched in her throat.

"Why?"

Bitterly laughing, Tsunade downed another cup of sake. "Why not? Why would he allow Konoha to possess a weapon that can be easily used against him?"

The weight of the Hokage's words settled over them in the silent office.

"What do I tell the boys?" Sakura whispered. "You just said I can't say that-"

"Tell them to keep an eye on her. Make up some bullshit about being responsible caretakers. I'm sure you'll think of something to convince them to do what you want without asking too many questions." Tsunade cut in with a knowing smile.

Sakura groaned.

_Oh what a tangled web we weave!

* * *

_

When Naruto opened the door to the house, the first thing that greeted them was the smell of beef donburi.

"Aww... no ramen!" Naruto moaned. "But Sakura-chan makes the best food after Ichiraku's!"

"Tadaima." Sadako called from behind them, reciting the customary greeting.

"Okaeri!" Sakura's voice floated in from the kitchen. "You guys are just in time; I just finished making the kinpira."

Wandering over to the stove, Sadako plucked a matchstick thin carrot from the pan and popped it into her mouth. It tasted the same as her mother's—Haruno Sakura never deviated from her recipes, she supposed—lightly spiced with red pepper, cooked in sesame oil and soy sauce, and the familiar sweet taste of carrot underneath it all.

A pale hand lightly slapped her fingers away from the wok. "Quit stealing the kinpira before dinner Sada-chan." Sakura jokingly admonished. "If you eat it all, how am I supposed to decorate the donburi?"

Sighing, Sadako turned away from the stove and helped Naruto set the table.

"Sasuke-" Sakura called as she strained to reach the large bowls Kakashi had placed on the top shelf of the cabinet. "Can you-"

The boy brushed her arm aside as he easily got the china off the shelf.

"You're really short." Sasuke drawled as he handed the bowls to her.

Bristling at the comment, Sakura yelled, "I am not _short_, you imbecile! I'm average height! I'm a _girl!_"

"Whatever." Sasuke brushed the comment aside.

"Don't 'whatever' me, Uchiha Sasuke. I swear to God-"

"Hey." Naruto butted in, grinning like the fox he was. "Quit flirting. I'm hungry."

Sasuke glared at his best friend and Sakura flushed pink. "You're a dobe."

Turning away to hide her blushing cheeks, Sakura immersed herself in the task of filling each bowl with rice before topping it with slices of beef and scattering kinpira over it all. Behind her, Naruto yelled insults while Sasuke calmly batted ones back. At one point, Sadako came over to her side and took the finished bowls, setting them at each place on the table.

Even through she had resigned herself to the fact that Sasuke would never see her as anything more than a friend, Sakura felt like her life was finally back to the way it was supposed to be. Team Seven was complete; they were one happy (albeit dysfunctional) family. They were all they needed.

"Sakura-" Sasuke's voice cut in through her musings. "Sit down so we can eat."

No, Sakura realized as she took her seat beside Naruto with a huge smile on her face. Things are better than they were before.

"Itadakimasu!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Shorter chapter than before but I couldn't think of anything else. I'm trying to develop Sasuke's and Sakura's relationship earlier but it's hard to write it so that it flows naturally. It would be weird if Sasuke woke up one morning and realized "Oh, Sakura is the love of my life." That's not how this fic works. XD

Not only that, but I'd like to keep the dynamic I had before, where their relationship is subtle and meaningful.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing.

Ja ne!  
Callista Miralni


	4. Betrayed

Spiral

By: Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto._ I do, however, own the lyrics of the song.

And I lied. It was _this_ chapter that **Meiza** and **Jiade-103** beta-ed for me, not the last. Thank you again!

* * *

Chapter Four: Betrayed

Saturday. It was the end of the first week that Sadako was under Sasuke's tutelage. Sakura and Naruto had deemed it to be a day of rest, much to Sasuke's annoyance. But it was Saturday, and nothing that the Uchiha heir said or did conveyed his unwillingness to relax to his teammates.

On the other hand, a certain Uchiha Sadako disguised as Chirasen Sadako woke up at a rather late hour (Naruto cracked up when he walked past her door and heard her swearing profusely at nearly ten o'clock that morning), to the aroma of pancakes and maple syrup, a rarity back in her own time in the Uchiha household.

The promise of pancakes served as an excellent incentive for the girl to wash up and dress in record time, and in a matter of minutes she was bouncing down the stairs in a rare display of childish glee.

"Ohayo." She said as she opened the kitchen door. Her smile nearly faltered as a wave of nostalgia hit her upon seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi at the table and Sakura cooking pancakes at the stove. It reminded her so much of her life fourteen years later.

"Ohayo Sada-chan." Kakashi said, looking up from _Icha Icha Paradise_.

The girl wrinkled her nose in distaste at the sight of the perverted novel, but said nothing. "I smell pancakes. And maple syrup." She said, trying to ignore the novel in Kakashi's hand.

Naruto beckoned her to the chair beside him and she sat down. "Sada-chan must love pancakes. She probably loves them as much as I love ramen!"

"Err... not quite Naruto-nii-san."

Sakura set down a plate of pancakes in front of the twelve-year-old girl. "Here Sada-chan. You get pancakes first 'cause you're the youngest and you work harder than most of us do."

With that simple gesture, Sadako suddenly recalled all the small things her mother, in her own time, had done for her, from making her breakfast every morning to going over her homework in the evening. A wave of homesickness threatened to overwhelm her, and Sadako had to force the smile to stay on her face, struggling not to cry. "Arigato gozaimasu Sakura-nee-san."

"She wouldn't have to work so hard if Sasuke wasn't such a brutal taskmaster." Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes.

Sasuke shot Naruto a glare and murmured, "Idiot—you couldn't even train a Genin cell if you tried."

Naruto jumped up from the table. "You wanna fight Sasuke-bastard? I can take you out right here and right now."

"Sit down! Eat your pancakes!" Sakura screeched, glaring at Naruto and Sasuke in turn.

Kakashi and Sadako looked up at Sakura's sudden outburst but said nothing.

"You're ruining my appetite for pancakes, Naruto-nii-san, Sasuke-sensei. And I hate it when that happens." Sadako said pointedly before returning to her breakfast.

Sasuke quietly sat across the table from his charge, regarding her with a discreet stare. It was strange, seeing someone who had been acting so cold, collected, and mature for her age, suddenly acting like a child over something as trivial as pancakes.

"Hurry up and eat—we have to give our report to the Hokage soon." Sakura said as she finally sat down herself.

"Hn. Is that so? Since I'm not needed, I'm staying home." Sasuke said.

Naruto grinned mischievously. "Baa-chan wants to see you anyways, Sasuke. You aren't getting off THAT easily."

* * *

After Team Seven had given their weekly report to the Hokage, they ran into Hyuuga Hinata who had invited them over to the Hyuuga house for a gathering of friends. Unable to refuse and unable to run away, Team Seven, minus Kakashi but plus Sadako, went to the Hyuuga Main House and stayed there for the majority of the day.

In a separate room from their male teammates, Tenten, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and Sadako lounged about and caught up on each other's lives. The older kunoichis were interested in Sadako's life the most and had taken turns pelting the girl with questions.

"You can play the piano? Sugoi! That's a skill that not many shinobis have and most kunoichis' only know the basics." Hinata commented.

"Sasuke-kun can play the guitar, the flute, and the shamisen." Sakura mumbled from her place on the floor.

Ino grinned. "And how would _you_ know that Forehead Girl? Were you spying on Sasuke-kun?"

"Get over it Ino-pig. You were there with me each time we caught Sasuke-kun playing any one of those instruments." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Besides, we were six."

"Will you play something for us?" Tenten begged. "I'd love to hear you play. I'm sure you're really good since you've had lessons for eight years."

"Err... I haven't played since my parents died. I'm out of practice. Besides, does Hinata-nee-san have a piano to begin with?" Sadako fidgeted nervously.

"Actually, there's a piano in the next room." Hinata said softly.

Tenten had practically dragged the younger girl next door and pushed her onto the bench. "Please Sadako-chan?"

Sadako couldn't say no. She lifted the lid off the keys and tried to remember a song that she had written not too long ago, a song about her mother's anguish at her father's departure from Konoha five years before she was born.

_Even through the worst of times  
I always believed  
That you would come back to me  
Even through the emptiness  
The blinding pain inside  
I always knew that you would change your mind_

Sakura listened to Sadako's childish soprano voice sing her pent-up emotions from the past two years into words.

"Sugoi. She can play and sing at the same time." Hinata whispered.

Ino also heard the words and glanced worriedly at her childhood best friend.

_Sakura-chan... _

What a fitting expression for such a tragic love.

_But once again I have to prove  
Where my loyalties lie  
The one who cared  
The one who shared  
The one who risked his life  
Suddenly I see the light and all this time  
I've only been fooling myself_

Outside in the courtyard, the males from the Rookie Nine, Neji, Lee, and Sai also heard the music.

"Who's playing, Neji? Hanabi?" Kiba asked.

"Hanabi-sama doesn't play the piano." Neji said with a frown.

Naruto strained his ears to listen and frowned. He could hear the raw emotion behind the lyrics, telling the story that was taboo among those who were present.

_Couldn't you just drop the illusion?  
Couldn't you just grant my one request?  
Is it hard to walk the path of ambition  
Leaving me behind?  
Could you see that I cared?  
Could you see what I shared?  
Could I sense the scent of betrayal  
That lingers in the air?_

Sakura lowered her head to hide her misty eyes. This song... it was bringing memories of that last night. Sakura could almost swear that she was twelve again—twelve, naïve and weak. This was the night when her whole world had come crashing down onto her. This was the night that she prayed she would never have to repeat.

If only she knew what lay ahead in her future.

_I should have known  
You aim too high  
That even God can't help you with your request  
I should have seen  
The warning signs  
The vengeful aura that surrounds you everywhere_

"Sadako. It's Sadako who's performing."

Sasuke looked up from the ground and frowned.

He had never heard this song before, but it was so…uncannily accurate to his own story that it was somewhat disturbing. And here this stranger was singing it for all to hear. It was like having someone reading your diary out loud.

_But then again_, he thought, _there was no way Sadako could know enough about them to write a song specifically for them._

If only Sasuke knew the truth.

_But... couldn't you just drop the illusion?  
Couldn't you just grant my one request?  
Is it hard to walk the path of ambition  
Leaving me behind?  
Could you see that I cared?  
Could you see what I shared?  
Could I sense the scent of betrayal  
That lingers in the air?_

Sadako remembered the first time she had performed this for her mother. It was Okaa-sama's birthday and her daughter had given her a song.

The girl could remember how her mother's emerald-green eyes welled up with tears and emotion. Sadako knew it was cruel of her to give such a gift but it was something she felt had to be done. Okaa-sama couldn't run away from the past forever.

She knew her mother's personal nightmares.

And she brought them to reality in a mere four minutes.

_All this time  
I thought I believed  
I thought I could see  
Who you really were  
And all this time  
I thought I could reach  
Down into the dark abyss of your mind_

He knew that song.

Sasuke didn't know where he had heard it before? Was it a dream? Or was it simply the guilt of leaving creating false memories?

He didn't care.

But deep down inside, Sasuke knew he really did.

_But... you can't drop the illusion  
You can't grant me my one request  
It's gotta be hard to walk the path of ambition  
Leaving me betrayed  
You couldn't see that I cared  
You couldn't see what I shared  
And even after all this time  
Even after all your crimes, I  
I still love you_

* * *

Sadako lay on her bed at home, staring at the blank, whitewashed ceiling. She could see the faces of her mother and the various aunts and uncles she had, as well as the faces of her teammates, in her mind's eye. A single tear spilled down her face, and she wiped it away irritably. Sadako was not one to cry over her situation, and she wasn't going to start now. But then again, although Sadako would never admit it aloud, she missed being back home.

She accepted her fate only because she had no other choice but to accept it. Hokage-sama most likely didn't have the counter-jutsu or even know a counter-jutsu to send her back home, and there was no telling how long it could take to find one. Besides, the girl was curious. In this time-frame, she could finally meet her father.

Uchiha Sasuke—what a cold name! He lived up to all the stories she heard about him. It was hard to imagine that in the near future, this man's only weakness would be the one and only Haruno Sakura.

Sadako would have found this incredibly sweet; if it hadn't been for the fact she didn't have a single romantic bone in her body.

Sadako rolled over and stared out the window. As much as she wanted to go home, sleep in her own bed, and be with people she loved (even if she almost never said it aloud), she knew she couldn't. And even if she could, she wasn't sure if she would. As much as she wanted to go home, a part of her was glad to be here. This was her opportunity to learn, her trial to overcome. If she could live through this, then she could handle just about anything.

* * *

Sasuke leaned against the tree, his arms crossed in front of his chest, and stared at Sadako below him.

"Stop it. You're acting like a baby."

The girl whirled around, kunai poised at a dangerous arc. "_I'm_ acting like a baby? Sasuke-sensei, _you're _the one who's being unfair. Is it really that difficult of a request to grant?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and brought his face eye-level with his student. "Just because I won't let you spend a day with Sakura at the hospital doesn't mean you get to act like a brat. Tsunade told me to teach you whatever I wish and she named me your guardian. Don't act all high and mighty on me Chirasen Sadako."

"You're being an asshole." The girl said through gritted teeth.

"And you're being annoying. You're going to learn how to do this kata right or there will be Hell to pay." Sasuke retorted. The 'disagreement' was interrupted by a sweet voice.

"Gomen nasai, Sasuke-san. I'm sorry we're late. Oh, ohayo Naruto-kun"

"Hinata." Sasuke acknowledged.

Naruto looked up from his place at the foot of a nearby tree. "Hinata!"

Sasuke's eye caught another slightly smaller figure behind the Hyuuga heir. The figure stepped into the light and he recognized her to be Hyuuga Hanabi, Hinata's little sister.

"Hinata-nee-sama, is that her? Chirasen Sadako?" Hanabi said, nodding towards the scowling Sadako practicing her kata.

"Hai Hanabi-chan. Sadako-san is Sasuke-san's student."

Hanabi regarded the girl coldly. "She's nothing special."

Sadako froze and turned to glare at the speaker. Realizing that it was Hanabi-oba-sama, the girl's scowl deepened even further. She didn't even like Hanabi-oba-sama back in her own time (the woman wouldn't stop staring at her every time she saw her on the streets!) and once again, Sadako was forced to feign ignorance. "Who are you?"

"Hyuuga Hanabi of the Hyuuga Main House. It would be in your best interests not to forget my name."

"I've never forgotten a name or a face, Hyuuga-sama." Sadako glared coldly.

"Back to your kata, Sadako." Sasuke reprimanded. "You'll never get anywhere at this rate."

"Actually, Sasuke-san, if you don't mind, why don't we have Hanabi-chan and Sadako-san spar against each other sometime today." Hinata spoke up timidly.

Sasuke looked at the two girls and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. Sadako! You heard Hinata!"

Sadako paused in the middle of her kata and straightened her posture. She studied Hanabi and began to formulate methods of attack and defense.

_Hyuuga... if fighting against Hanabi is anything like fighting against Neji-oji-sama, then I think I know what to do. Demo, shimatta, I can't use my Sharingan. How the hell do I do this then? Oh, exactly as I did it before I gained the Sharingan: long distance attacks, preferably at a forty-five degree angle directly at the second vertebrae of the spine. The chance that Hanabi can use the Kaiten are slim though. I just have to watch for her fingers or she'll close my tenketsu._

Sadako smirked faintly. It made the other girl nervous and suddenly, Hanabi realized that she really didn't know what she was up against.

_She's from an unknown clan, so I have no previous sources about her fighting style and her abilities. She's also the Uchiha traitor's student, so there is an unpredictability factor there. Neji-__nii-sama also mentioned that she was working on her speed last week so I don't know how fast she moves either. _Hanabi smirked. _This could be interesting._

"Start!" Naruto called from a safe distance up in a tree.

With that, two prodigies from the most prestigious clans of Konoha (although it was known only to one), charged.

* * *

Far away from Hi no Kuni, eight members of a secret organization gathered in the darkness of their underground hideout.

"Itachi—your little brother's been spotted again, yeah." Deidara said, making conversation as they waited for their Leader to arrive to begin the meeting.

The eldest Uchiha looked impassively at his comrade. "Hn. Is that so?"

"The Leader's getting impatient. The Kyuubi is taking longer to obtain than he originally thought." Tobi commented.

The silver glint of Samehada mingled with the crimson Mangekyou Sharingan in the darkness.

"I've heard something interesting about your brother Itachi-san." Kisame said.

Itachi cocked his head towards his partner, a silent signal that showed he was listening.

"Sasuke's got himself a student. A remarkable one at that. And he's back in Konoha, training her as part of his probationary punishment."

_A girl?_ Itachi thought to himself. _And a prodigy in her own right?_

Whoever this girl was, she wasn't important to him. Not as important as the Kyuubi. Not as important as his foolish little brother's attainment of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Kisame, why would I care about my foolish little brother and his student? She's nothing important as to concern the Akatsuki." Itachi said, effectively ending the conversation.

The other members fidgeted uncomfortably. While all of them were feared missing-nin from their respective villages, none were as frightening as the legendary ex-ANBU captain, Uchiha Itachi. It was dangerous to cross the nineteen-year-old shinobi's temper.

"Let's begin." The Leader called, emerging from the darkness.

The wheels of fate were beginning to spiral and Uchiha Itachi didn't realize his one fatal mistake in time.

This one mistake would kill him in the future.

* * *

"Kabuto."

The grey-haired medic-nin looked up from his work of grinding medicinal herbs to make Orochimaru's medicines.

"What is it-"

The shadowy figure in the doorway stepped into the dimly light room.

"-Orochimaru-sama?"

"Where is my Sasuke-kun? Why haven't the Oto-nins brought him back yet?" The Snake Sannin hissed. He was running out of patience—and out of time. The metapsychosis would have to be done soon and it was crucial that Uchiha Sasuke and the Sharingan Mirror-Wheel Eyes be in his possession.

Kabuto froze at the the questions poised to him by his master. He set down the mortar and pestle he was using and drew out a few cards from his pocket.

"According to recent intelligence, Sasuke-kun is currently under the eye of Team Kakashi, the Godaime, and Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji. He is being kept near the Hokage Tower, in the center of the village."

"No matter. I won't let them stop me from taking back what is mine." Orochimaru dismissed.

The medic hesitated. "There is one more complication."

"And what would that be? Tsunade and Jiraiya?" Orochimaru demanded.

"No. A girl. Sasuke-kun's new Genin charge. And he is instructed to teach her everything he knows."

Orochimaru felt his breath catch in his throat. Impossible. Tsunade would never give a traitor a Genin charge. The Snake Sannin was certain that he knew his former teammate well enough to predict the reasons behind her actions. Unless...

"Orochimaru-sama, I believe Tsunade-hime is planning to use Chirasen Sadako and Uchiha Sasuke against us in the future. After all, one is your protégé and the other is said protégé's student."

Orochimaru clenched his pale, sickly hand into a fist.

"Damn you Tsunade."

That woman would complete the Sandaime's task. She was, after all, his successor.

Tsunade would effectively steal all his jutsus and all the knowledge he sacrificed so much for to gain would be in the palm of Konoha's hand.

"Kabuto—I have a new mission for you."

He looked up, intrigued. "What is it?"

"Capture my Sasuke-kun and bring him to me. But make sure you kill Chirasen Sadako in the process. We don't want Tsunade to have something to use against us." Orochimaru said.

_It's just one little girl. One pathetic, although supposedly talented, whelp. Why would it concern Orochimaru-sama so much if it's just one little girl?_

Kabuto decided that Orochimaru-sama was one of the most unpredictable persons in the world.

"I want her dead." Orochimaru hissed to himself as the exited the room.

* * *

Naruto stared at the person standing behind the door.

"Hey Dickless."

Pointing a finger, he yelled, "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

Arisugaki Sai pushed past the Jinchuuriki and set the box in his arms down on the dining room table. "Isn't it obvious?" Sai smiled. "I'm moving in."

"BUT-! BUT! WHY?"

"Naruto!" They could hear Sakura's voice echoing down the stairs. "What are you yelling about? Is that Sai?"

The medic appeared at the base of the stairwell with Sadako right behind her. "Oh. So you really are moving in. There's a spare room across the hall from Sadako-chan's you can take."

Picking up his box again, Sai walked past the two kunoichis. "Thanks Ugly."

Gritting her teeth, Sakura forced herself to breathe deeply and count to ten. _It's just Sai, he doesn't mean it. It's just Sai, he doesn't know any better, no matter how many times you tell him otherwise..._

On the second floor, Sasuke bumped into the other shinobi in the hall and glared at him for being in the way. Sai continued to smile.

"Sasuke-sensei!" Sadako came racing down the hall. "Sakura-nee-san wants you to buy ice cream!"

"For what?" Sasuke asked without taking his eyes off of Sai.

"She wants to make tempura ice cream for dessert as a celebration for Sai-nii-san moving in with us." The girl repeated boredly.

"Hn." Sasuke pushed past the two and headed downstairs. After a moment, they heard Sasuke and Naruto leave the house.

Opening the door to the empty spare room, Sai set down his lone box of belongings on the dresser and opened it up. Sakura was nice enough to give him a room with a view of the inner village. Setting up his easel right beside the window, Sai dumped his painting supplies on the corner table before rummaging through the box again and pulling out his past artworks so he could hang them on the wall. In the course of hanging his art, Sai noticed that the little girl from downstairs was standing in the doorway watching him.

"What do you want Princess?"

Unfazed, Sadako asked, "Is that my nickname? I heard from Naruto-nii-san that you like to give people weird nicknames."

He shrugged. "Of course it's your nickname. It signifies we're close friends."

"We just met." The girl pointed out.

"Then in that case," Sai tossed the girl something out of the box. She caught it deftly and unrolled the thin scroll. "It's my wish for us to become close friends in the future."

Grinning at the cartoonish sketch of Team Kakashi, Sadako smirked and saluted the older boy with two fingers. "Then I know we'll be very close in the future Sai-nii-san."

_As a matter of fact,_ Sadako remembered with a grin. _In my time, you're the closest uncle to me. You're the one who taught me how to become emotionless, how to become a true shinobi._

Sai saw her smirk shift into a smile and inwardly wondered why. Shrugging off his curiosity, he went back to unpacking, labeling the girl as being just as mentally unhinged as the rest of Team Kakashi.

_Hm._ Sai wondered to himself. _Does that mean I'm mentally unhinged too?

* * *

_

"Hey Sasuke." Naruto said in a low voice as they searched the freezer aisle of the grocery store for the particular brand of ice cream Sakura wanted. "What do you think... what do you think of Sakura-chan?"

Glancing sideways at his best friend, Sasuke rolled his eyes before continuing to search for the ice cream brand.

"Why are you asking me such a pointless question?"

"It's not pointless!" Naruto shot back heatedly. "It's just... I wanted to know if you thought she had changed too. I hardly recognize her. Is she really the same Haruno Sakura-chan we grew up with?"

Privately, Sasuke already noticed the change. Sakura didn't squeal over him but she didn't smother him with worry either. She never turned pink at the sight of him and often immersed herself with her work or her friends even though they were in the same room together. She alternated between calling him "Sasuke" and "Sasuke-kun," but the latter only appeared when she was teasing him or feeling particularly affectionate. It was almost as if she had given up trying to be anything more than a good friend.

She was strong and collected. Sakura never fretted over the littlest things anymore. She wasn't...

..._annoying._

But at the same time, she was. If she wasn't annoying, then Sasuke wouldn't be thinking (he would never admit to _worrying_ though) about the change Naruto claimed she underwent.

"You were gone." Sasuke realized.

Naruto had the grace to look embarrassed. "Uh... yeah. I left Konoha with Ero-sennin for training a month or two after... after we last saw each other. Didn't come back until a month and a half before we saw you the first time."

_So she was alone for two years._

"Found it." Sasuke opened the freezer door and extracted the two gallon tub of green tea ice cream from the shelf. Heading back to the front of the store to check out, Sasuke almost forgot Naruto was with him until the other teen raced to catch up with him, saying, "Well? You never answered my question, teme."

Handing the cashier the correct amount of ryo, Sasuke snorted. "What question?"

"If you thought Sakura-chan changed or not!"

Picking up the plastic grocery bag, Sasuke walked out the front door.

"Teme!"

"What?" Sasuke snapped. "What do you want me to say? Yes, I noticed it because she doesn't squeal over me anymore! Yes, I noticed it because she doesn't seem to care about me more than she cares about you, or Kakashi, or that kid, or Sadako. Yes, I noticed it because _she's not the same girl I left_. Is that what you wanted me to say, Naruto?"

Taken aback by Sasuke's sudden surge of anger, Naruto stopped walking and stared at his best friend.

"You really wanted her to stay the same." He murmured. "You, more than anyone else, needed her to stay the same. To tell you the truth, I... I was also surprised to see how much she changed. She was the same Sakura-chan but then she wasn't. The girl next to me was almost a complete stranger."

Exhaling deeply, Sasuke smirked wryly. "Then I guess we're both as bad as each other. Because we both left her behind to chase after power."

"But we wanted power for different reasons!" Naruto argued as they started walking again. "I wanted to protect everybody and you... wanted it for revenge."

Sasuke was silent for a while and Naruto was afraid he would physically lash out at him for hitting a nerve.

"I lied." The other boy said quietly, so softly that Naruto almost didn't hear him. "Do you remember what I said when we fought Gaara?"

Sapphire-blue widened as the memory came back.

_I don't... want to loose anymore precious people. So no matter what, you have to save Sakura!_

Smiling broadly, Naruto clapped Sasuke hard on the shoulder, making the other teen scowl darkly at him.

"You won't leave her just to protect her again, will you Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Because I promise to do the same. I promise not to leave Sakura-chan alone again. It's a promise of a lifetime!" Naruto cheered as the house came into sight. Bounding up the front steps, Naruto unlocked the door and ran inside, leaving Sasuke trailing behind him at a more reasonable pace.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called from the kitchen. "Can you stick that in the freezer please? Oh and don't go anywhere—dinner's done."

Standing in the kitchen entryway, Sasuke watched as Sadako ran around setting up the table while Sakura finished the last of her dinner preparations. Transfixed, he just stood there, wondering what it was about this ordinary and domestic scene that caught his attention.

"Sasuke." Sakura's irritated voice snapped him back to the present. "Did you not hear a single word I said?"

"Sorry." He said automatically, moving to stuff the ice cream in the freezer.

Sadako and Sai were already seated at the table across from each other. Sinking in the chair beside his charge, Sasuke realized the other two were staring at him.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Sasuke scowled darkly.

"Nothing, Emo Prince. I just didn't think you could be civil." Sai answered.

Sadako opened her mouth to say something else but thought better of it and drank her glass of lemonade instead.

"If you have something to say, spit it out now Sadako." Sasuke glowered at her.

The ice settled in her empty glass as she set it back down on the table again. "It's never too late to apologize." The girl answered cryptically, looking lost within her "amnesiac" memories. "A late apology is better than no apology at all."

Sadako's song played again in his head.

"Hn."

* * *

She knew she shouldn't have volunteered to take Ino's shift while she was out on a mission.

It was almost midnight and Sakura was already yawning as she walked home. In an effort to conserve what little chakra she had, the girl walked through the streets of Konoha.

However, living in a new place for only a month really tends to mess with your set routines.

"Ahh... shit." Sakura swore as she looked up at her old apartment building. "I wasted fifteen minutes walking here, in the complete opposite direction of the house. Damn it! I knew I should have taken the cup of coffee Shizune-sempai offered when I had the chance."

Running her fingers impatiently through her hair, Sakura turned on heel and walked back the way she came... towards her _new_ living quarters.

As she passed the hospital, Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when a second pair of footsteps fell in step beside her.

"Kami-sama Sasuke!" The girl yelled, placing her hand over her racing heart. "You scared me half to death!"

"And you call yourself a ninja." Sasuke scoffed.

Scowling, the girl "hmph"-ed and turned her head away. "Mou, Sasuke-kun, you don't have to be so mean about it. Unlike you, I work a steady eight hour shift in the hospital. People usually don't lie in wait wielding kunais as I'm turning the corner."

"Hn. You should still be on guard."

In her less-than-coherent state, Sakura swore that Sasuke was acting _concerned_ over her well-being. But that's ridiculous—this is Uchiha Sasuke for heaven's sake. Uchiha Sasuke doesn't care for _anybody._

"Whatever Sasuke." She dismissed. "What are you doing here anyways?"

Immediately, the dark-haired teen scowled as if he remembered something unpleasant. "The dobe and the freak made me come when you didn't show up at exactly eleven forty-five."

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "I'm perfectly capable of walking home myself. This is _Konoha_ for starters; nothing is going to happen to be in the ten minute walk from the house to the hospital. Besides, I'm strong enough to take out any asswipe who tries to mess with me, chakra or no."

"That's what I said." Sasuke grumbled. "But then they got the brat and the pervert to gang up on me too."

Sasuke unlocked the front door and allowed her to enter first. Smiling at the courtesy, Sakura couldn't help but tease him. "I didn't know you were such a gentlemen."

"Tch. Don't fall over bending backwards to see it again Sakura."

Laughing, Sakura sucker-punched him in the arm. "And here I was, thinking you could be polite for longer than two seconds. You're still the same, Sasuke—kind one minute and a complete ass the next hour."

Her words made him tense and he followed her into the kitchen, watching as she rummaged through the fridge for something to snack on.

"You think I haven't changed?"

_Oh my God._ Sakura froze. _I'm having a decent conversation with Uchiha Sasuke. Did Hell freeze over?_

Straightening up with a cup of pudding in her hand, Sakura grabbed a spoon from the nearby drawer and opened the lid. She tried not to look at her teammate for a while, trying to form an answer.

"I don't know." Sakura said slowly before taking another bite of pudding. "Do you think you have?"

He thought about it for a moment longer. Was he getting soft, staying here in Konoha? Why did he agree to come back in the first place?

Deep down inside, Sasuke already knew the answer. He was sick of the needless bloodshed (it reminded him of that fateful night), sick of living in the darkness (well, he was born in Konoha after all. Sunshine is part of the package), sick of being bored underground almost all the time. In his weakened state, Orochimaru couldn't train him for eight hours straight and the Sannin never let him go outside unless they were moving locations.

"Why did you agree to come back?" Sakura asked him softly, tossing her empty pudding cup in the trash.

Looking at her, Sasuke realized that for the first time in his life, he was _truly_ seeing Haruno Sakura. He never gave her a second glance when they were children, and he never gave her the chance to show him how much she had grown. This girl was, as Naruto so eloquently put it, a complete stranger in a familiar guise.

Shrugging, Sasuke gave her the most honest answer he could muster. "I was bored."

Staring at him in disbelief, Sakura whacked him on the shoulder. "You were _bored_?" She repeated incredulously. "You came _back_ because you were _bored?_"

"Quit hitting me Sakura."

Breaking out into a wide grin, Sakura told him, "You need a life."

"Then why don't you give me one since you seem to know everything?" Sasuke mocked her.

Once again, Sakura was acutely aware of how strange this conversation was.

"Okay." The girl said cheekily. "Usually, at twelve-thirty at night, people are asleep. So go to bed Sasuke."

"Tch." The Uchiha heir scowled at her. "Who asked you?"

"Why Sasuke-kun," Sakura exclaimed, feigning hurt. "I believe you did."

For a moment, Sakura swore she saw the ghost of a smile on his face. Feeling giddy that _she_ could get Uchiha Sasuke to relax for just a moment, Sakura forgot to watch out for the raised step between the kitchen and the hallway. Bracing herself for the fall, Sakura was surprised to hear Sasuke's voice in her ear.

"You really need to stop daydreaming Sakura." He said tonelessly as he steadied her on her feet.

To her credit, Sakura did not blush even though her inner was dancing and melting into a puddle of romantic goo inside her head. "You're nothing special to be daydreaming about Sasuke." She shot back with a smile on her face. "But thank you."

"Hn."

_For what?_

The unspoken meaning of the syllable hung in the air. Her eyes lit up in another smile.

_For catching me every single time.

* * *

_

Author's Notes:

So the beginning didn't change much from the original [actually, I don't think I changed it at all]. Added in some stuff. More Sai. Some heart-to-heart conversation between Naruto and Sasuke [because honestly, they need one :/]. And some fluff at the end. My mouth is throbbing from the excess sweetness. XD

Thank my faerie book. Smexy faerie Ice Prince who reminds me _too_ much of Sasu-chan.

Onward to revising the next chapter!

Ja ne!

Callista Miralni


	5. Love's Cage

Spiral

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: Ahhh... no.

COMPLETELY. NEW. CHAPTER.

Split Chapter Five into two because I wanted to focus more on some things.

OH. Figured out the problem with reviews. A number of my past readers/reviewers are NOT able to submit comments because they have reviewed "this chapter" in the past. There are a few ways to remedy this if you _really_ want to leave a comment:

1. Send me a PM

2. Sign out and submit an anonymous review.

Past readers, you will not be able to submit signed reviews until I post Chapter Ten. My apologies. :/

* * *

Chapter Five: Love's Cage

.

.

.

_your doll's life is paradise in compared to love's cage_

_._

_._

_.  
_

"I hate the heat." Naruto groaned, fanning himself with his black shirt.

Orange jacket abandoned on the floor, the blond shinobi perked up when he saw Sakura enter the room with a cup of-

"Gimme that!"

Moving her frozen treat out of his reach, Sakura glared at him and said, "Get your own. This is _mine._"

"But Sakura-chan..." Naruto wheedled. "I thought you loved me! You won't leave me to melt in this extreme heat. Just one... bite? Please?"

"No." Sakura shoveled another spoonful into her mouth. "This is a _limited_ treat. The High Street cafes only serve this during the summer and I plan on enjoying every _last bite_ of my strawberry shaved ice."

"Sakura-chan!"

BAM!

Naruto toppled over on the floor in a bruised heap. Behind him, Sasuke looked murderous.

"Naruto—shut the hell up. Your voice is grating on my ears." Sasuke all but snarled before disappearing upstairs.

Frowning, Naruto stared at the spot where his best friend was last seen. "What the hell has got his panties in a twist?"

Licking the sweet strawberry syrup off her spoon, Sakura shrugged. "I don't really know."

* * *

Kakashi sighed.

"I really have yet to make an appearance."

_Aho! Aho!_

He was being a coward but what else could he do? Kakashi couldn't look at Sadako in the eye whenever he saw her. All he could see instead of pin-straight raven hair was spiky locks in the same shade walking away. And Tsunade's words would echo through his head, distracting him from reading.

_She isn't Sasuke._ Kakashi mentally berated himself. _She won't be like him_.

Stopping in his tracks, he spun around and headed in the direction of the Hokage Tower.

_Perhaps I need to make a visit..._

"Kakashi-sempai!"

The junior Jounin waved him down as he passed by the road leading to the Tower.

"What is it Natsume-kun?"

The shinobi was out of breath. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Hokage-sama has a mission for you, Uzumaki Naruto, and Arisugaki Sai."

_Well... there went that plan of spending the day with my cute students._

"What kind of mission?"

* * *

He could feel the twitch in his fingers.

_Blood..._

"Goddammit." Sasuke swore softly.

Relaxing his clenched fist, he ignored the small crescent-shaped cuts in his palm from where his nails dug deep into his skin.

_Fuckin' dream._

Passing a hand over his eyes, Sasuke lay down on his bed. The curtains were wide open and a songbird was trilling in the tree outside his window.

"Shut the fuck up!"

A shuriken embedded itself in the bird's throat and it dropped dead to the ground.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Sai was sitting on the deck reading. The dead bird and shuriken landed in front of his feet.

Across from him, a meditating Sadako cracked an eye open and blanched at the sight of the carcass.

"Where did that come from?" She pointed.

Coal eyes narrowing, Sai removed the shuriken and tossed the bird's still-warm body into the bushes.

"I don't know." Sai lied easily.

Palming the weapon, Sai glanced up at Sasuke's open bedroom window.

Sadako eyed the older teen warily, debating whether or not to trust his word, before deciding it wasn't worth the energy and going back to the meditating exercises Shikamaru-oji-sama taught her as a child.

* * *

_Knock knock._

"Come in!"

Kakashi found two of his students lazying about in the living room.

"Day off Sakura-chan?"

"Hai!" The girl beamed. "Tsunade-shishou knows she owes me a vacation. But nooo... she says I'm too important to be sitting at home sleeping!"

Patting her head affectionately, Kakashi smiled. "That just shows how much she needs you around Sakura-chan."

"Yeah right!" Sakura huffed. "She just wants me around so I can do her paperwork for her. Honestly!"

"Did you bring me anything cold to eat? Sakura-chan won't share." Naruto grumbled.

That's when Kakashi noted the jealous way Naruto watched Sakura eat her cup of shaved fruit ice.

"Ah... gomen, gomen. I only brought a missive from Tsunade-sama."

That snapped Naruto out of his gloomy stupor. "A mission?"

From the deck, Sai and Sadako snapped to attention.

Waving the scroll in the air, Kakashi answered, "Yes, a mission. For you, me, and Sai."

Naruto deflated. "No Sakura-chan huh? It's been forever since Baa-chan let you out of the village."

"I'm sure Sakura-chan would have been included in the squad if it weren't for the fact someone needed to stay behind and watch Sasuke." Kakashi replied amiably.

The scowl on Sakura's face told Kakashi he had said exactly the wrong thing.

"I have to _sit out_ on a _mission_ because I have to babysit _Sasuke?_"

Oops.

* * *

They were to leave in two days, according to the Hokage. She needed someone to gather some intelligence on possible Akatsuki movement in Kusa no Kuni and unfortunately, Team Kakashi was the only available squad with the necessary field experience to go.

"It's like handing Akatsuki the Kyuubi on a silver platter." The princess grumbled before shooing them out of her office.

The night before they were to depart, Team Kakashi gathered at their home for a team dinner. Sakura grew wise and told Kakashi to arrive three hours before the actual starting time. She was placing the finishing touches on Naruto's ramen when the doorbell rang.

Sadako opened the door and saw the silver-haired Jounin reading on the step.

"You're late."

Kakashi tensed at the sound of the Genin's voice but he smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "I'm on time Sada-chan." He said cheerfully, successfully hiding his unease.

The girl stepped aside to let him pass. "You know, Kakashi-san, I've heard stories of your tardiness but I didn't think you were actually _this_ bad."

Her statement caught Kakashi's attention. "Oh? From who?"

"Naruto-nii-san." Sadako answered promptly, lingering on the bottom step of the staircase. "You can go into the kitchen or wherever. I have to go get Sasuke-sensei now that you're here."

The Uchiha boy's name reminded Kakashi, once again, of his talk with Tsunade.

"Ne... Sada-chan, can I ask you a few things?"

The girl paused on the staircase and turned around to face him.

"Shoot."

Pleased, Kakashi asked, "How much do you know about your teacher?"

Something passed over her onyx orbs. "A fair amount." Sadako answered evenly.

He smiled, expecting that answer. There are few things stronger than the student-teacher bond. Even if you don't like each other, you can't help but learn a few things about each other in the process. "What do you think of him?"

"He's a good teacher." She took a seat on the steps.

"Anything else?"

"What's with the sudden questions? Is this the Inquisition?" Sadako shot back, an amused smirk playing on her lips.

Kakashi chuckled. "I'm just trying to figure out who Uchiha Sasuke is to Chirasen Sadako."

She blanched at Kakashi's last words.

"Sasuke-sensei..." The girl started to say. "- is Sasuke-sensei. There's nothing else to it."

"Ah but that's not what I'm asking." Kakashi took a seat beside her on the staircase. "I want to know how _you_ feel towards your teacher."

The innocence in her eyes when she diverted her full attention to him put Kakashi at ease. His caution towards this stranger in their close-knit family evaporated. She was just another broken soul.

"He-" Sadako stretched out her fingers one by one. "- is everything I want to be and everything I never want to be. I know I'll never be a stronger ninja-"

Kakashi smiled broadly.

"-but I will become a stronger_ person_."

Chuckling, Kakashi stood up and gently pulled the girl to her feet.

"You're a good kid."

Her eyes darkened as she remembered Kakashi-ojii-sama telling her the same thing as a child whenever she did something to make him proud.

"I try." She admitted softly before running up the stairs to Sasuke's room.

* * *

It was weird, Sakura decided, not having Naruto in the house. She could not alternate watching Sasuke and Sadako's training with the blond Jinnchuuriki when he was gone; she devoted all her time with them instead of working her shifts at the hospital.

Reality, necessity, and the powerful sense of duty did not stop Sakura from complaining though.

"I should be at the hospital, _working_, instead of babysitting your sorry ass Uchiha." She grumbled as she furiously highlighted relevant passages in her textbook. "_Stop being annoying Sakura!_ I'll show you annoying, you stupid, egotistical piece of shi-"

"Sakura." Sasuke called her name across the field. "You're being annoying."

Ten meters ahead of her, Sadako's quiet laughter echoed through the field.

Sasuke scowled. "Pay attention Chirasen." He told her venomously as he lashed out and attacked. "One moment is all it takes for you to be dead."

Struggling, the girl defended herself as best as she could. Sadako could help but notice the underlying tension behind her teacher's movements, the raw power and frustration in every punch. There was more of it than usual and the girl was finding it more difficult to parry each strike.

"Shishi Rendan!"

She thought she had gotten him then but Sasuke turned into a log.

_God damn the Kawarimi!_

From her safe place under the oak tree, Sakura also noticed Sasuke's fury. With each strike, the medic's alarm grew.

_What does he think he's doing? _

The dark streak heading towards the girl's blind side was moments away from bowling Sadako over when Sakura jumped to her feet and screamed, "To the right!"

The spar came to a stop when Sadako pulled a kunai out of her pouch and held it close against Sasuke's throat. Meanwhile, Sasuke's body crackled with electricity and the girl took a few steps back to avoid electrocution.

"Sakura." The Uchiha said, his voice dangerously soft. "Don't interfere."

"What were you thinking Sasuke?" Sakura yelled back. "Hitting a Genin with a dose of electricity that high! What the fuck is your problem today?"

She would never let it show but Sadako was shaking in terror. She could recall the electrifying sensation of being shocked during the Chuunin exams when she felt the tendrils of lightning play dangerously close over her skin. Swallowing, Sadako watched the two older teens argue, trying and failing to calm her racing heart.

"My only problem today happens to be you!" Sasuke shot back. "Why do you have to interfere with everything Sakura? What I teach Sadako and how I teach her is none of your business-"

"Of course it's my business!" Sakura shrieked. "She may be _your_ charge but you're such a frigid bastard that you can't show her any kind of affection whatsoever! All you do is beat the shit out of her day in and day out and when you're not doing that, you're locked away in your own little world. Because boohoo!—I'm Uchiha Sasuke and I'm a fucking emo kid!"

The Sharingan glared at her.

"The world doesn't work the way you want it to, Sakura." He sneered. "Reality isn't as pretty as those stupid dramas you watch on TV."

"How dare you-!"

"If you spent more time in the _real world_," Sasuke mocked her. "Then you would know that. But you're always tucked away in your pristine, oversantized hospital that you've forgotten what it means to bleed."

_SLAP!_

"I'm leaving." Sadako announced flatly, walking home.

Her guardians paid no attention to her, furiously glaring each other down. The red mark on Sasuke's cheek throbbed painfully but he wasn't going to give Sakura the satisfaction of knowing that she caused him minor discomfort.

"You are such an _asshole_." Sakura hissed before storming off in the same direction as Sadako.

Sasuke scowled at her back, hating the bitter sense of irony. This time, _he _was watching her back, watching her walk farther and farther away from.

"Uchiha."

Neji's voice came from the trees, where the Hyuuga had made himself comfortable without anyone noticing.

"Hyuuga." Sasuke bit out.

Calmly, Byakugan met Sharingan.

"If I were you," Neji said slowly. "I would learn to keep that temper of yours in check. Sakura-san and Sadako-san do not deserve to be an outlet for your frustrations."

"Butt out Hyuuga."

Deactivating his kekkei genkai, Neji shrugged and started to walk away. "Fine by me Uchiha. Just know that there are plenty of people willing to take your place in her heart."

Once Neji had vanished from sight, Sasuke whirled around and punched the wooden training post with all his strength. It splintered into a million pieces, leaving a jagged stub on the ground. Ignoring his bleeding knuckles, Sasuke breathed deeply and tried to calm himself.

"God." He laughed bitterly as he combed his bangs out of his face with his fingers. "I'm fucking insane. She really is annoying."

With that, Uchiha Sasuke left.

* * *

Yamanaka Ino was surprised to see her. After all, it had been months since Sakura last visited her parents' flower shop on a social call.

"Forehead!" Ino greeted her.

The teen's jade eyes flashed. "Pig." Sakura answered back shortly.

With that, Ino knew this was no social call.

"Hey Sakura," The teen called from the counter. "Flip the closed sign and pull up a seat. We're going to have a nice long chat."

* * *

Hinata saw her brooding on the swing set.

"Sadako-san."

The girl looked up.

"Hinata-nee-san."

Taking a seat on the swing beside her, the lavender eyed teen studied the girl. She was brooding about something; it was obvious in the stormy look in her onyx eyes, in the crease of her forehead. Sadako reminded Hinata of Sasuke by the look in her eyes, but she also reminded her of Sakura because of her creased forehead.

"You seem troubled." Hinata finally said, deciding that to be the best way to approach her.

Snorting, the girl kicked her feet on the ground and pushed the swing into motion. "Do you know what today is?"

"July 27?" Hinata answered. _What is so special about today?_

"Yeah." Sadako murmured. "Today's my birthday."

Pausing, Hinata felt a bit of pity for her. Didn't she go through the same thing as a child? The one day dedicated to celebrating her life often went ignored by the people she desperately wanted to take notice of it. In a way, Hinata could connect with the feelings of worthlessness she was sure Sadako was feeling.

"I didn't know that." The teen admitted softly, swinging along with her. "Happy Birthday Sadako-san. You're fourteen today, right?"

"Yeah." The girl said. "At least, I know why they say it sucks to be a teenager. Today, Sasuke-sensei was pissed for God-knows-whatever reason and took it out on me. When Sakura-nee-chan interfered, he got mad at her. I left before anything else besides yelling at each other happened."

Hinata stopped swinging. "Oh."

Silence.

Finally, Sadako stopped as well. "What?" She demanded to know.

Holding a finger up to her lips, Hinata got up from her swing and pulled Sadako to her feet. "I know," She said brightly. "Let's go out and celebrate your birthday with lunch! There's a cafe on High Street I bet you'll like."

The memories assaulted the girl as she recalled the year Hinata-oba-sama did the same thing for her birthday when her mother was held up at the hospital, Naruto-oji-sama was on a mission with Sai-oji-sama and Kakashi-ojii-sama was busy with his duties as the Hokage. She thought she was going to spend her birthday alone when Hinata showed up at the apartment and took her out for lunch.

Allowing herself a small smile, Sadako softly answered,

"That would be nice."

* * *

"So..." Ino handed Sakura a popsicle from the back freezer. "Start explaining."

Taking a bite of the frozen treat, Sakura appreciated the way the ice seemed to cool not only her body down, but her head as well. It was just what she needed to escape the merciless July heat.

"You know what I really hate Pig?" Sakura viciously bit into her popsicle. "I really hate the fact that no matter how many times I tell myself, how many times I remind myself, I can never really let go."

Ino blanched.

"Did you ever try?" She pressed.

Glaring at her best friend, Sakura snapped, "Of course I tried!"

"Did you really?" Ino said again. "Cause I was always under the impression that you drowned yourself in work and your medic studies just so you could distract yourself from your feelings."

Sakura didn't answer, choosing to eat her popsicle instead. Sighing, Ino allowed her to eat.

"You know what I think?" Ino finally said as she tossed her bare stick away. "I think that the two of you have too many unresolved issues. Maybe you guys need to talk them out."

Laughing harshly, Sakura tossed her bare popsicle stick in the trash with a practiced flick of her fingers. "Yeah right. This is _Uchiha Sasuke_ we're talking about."

Blue eyes met green. "You said to me once that he's changed." Ino challenged. "I dare you to test it."

"Deal." Sakura answered promptly. "But on one condition."

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"Shut up Pig! I'll only do it—if he approaches me first. If he doesn't, then he can rot in Hell for all I care."

She felt like tearing her hair out.

"I can see why the two of you are perfect for each other," Ino ground out. "Both of you are stubborn as hell."

"Stop it Ino." Sakura rested her head wearily on her folded arms. "Just... stop. Don't get my hopes up. There's no way anything more than close friendship would foster between us."

The Yamanaka snorted. "Right. And my boobs are as big as Tsunade-sama's. Forehead, have you _seen_ the way that boy looks at you?"

"Shut _up _Ino!"

* * *

She came home at twilight that night, feeling refreshed from her afternoon spent helping Ino at the flower shop, talking and giggling about the latest gossips around the village and listening to Ino bemoan her affections for her pineapple-headed teammate who was too busy drowning in the Hokage's tactical plans to realize Ino harbored any feelings towards her that were more than friendship.

The smell of stir-fry wafted towards her nose as she opened the door.

"Sada?" Sakura called as she slipped off her shoes. "I hope you have been watching the stove carefully. You know, it makes me nervous when you're cooking by yourself. What if you get called away and-"

She stopped the moment a pair of feet came into view, feet that were obviously too big to be Sadako's.

"Sasuke."

She looked at his face, hating the bitter feelings that sprung up.

"Where is Sada?" She asked him instead.

"With Hinata." He shortly answered before returning from where he came from.

That's when Sakura noticed it. The house was completely clean and picked up; not a speck of dust lay anywhere. She had been meaning to dust for weeks now and hadn't gotten around to it. Dinner was already on the table and someone had replaced the old, used up cartridge of air freshener with a new one. Every thing in the house seemed to sparkle and shine.

"Sasuke..." Sakura asked, stunned. "Did you... did you do all this?"

The boy said nothing as he took a seat in his usual place across from her at the table. Filling up two plates of what Sakura recognized to be yakiudon, Sasuke wordlessly handed her one plate before muttering "Itadakimasu" under his breath and eating in silence.

Unsure of what to do in the face of Sasuke's strange behavior (considering they were about to tear each other to pieces earlier in the day), Sakura picked up her chopsticks and ate in awkward silence.

It was good—Sakura was surprised to find. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised by Sasuke's cooking abilities but the taste...

A part of her wondered if Uchiha Mikoto's cooking tasted the exact same way.

Towards the end of dinner, Sadako came walking in through the front door. Sasuke looked at her as he stood up to put his plate in the sink and commanded for the girl to sit. Sakura caught the flare of anger in her eyes but the girl grudgingly sat in her usual chair, scowling deeply at one particular spot on the table. The medic bit back a smile and stood up to put her plate in the sink but Sasuke came back. Taking her plate away from her, the boy wordlessly pushed Sakura back in her chair and disappeared again into the kitchen.

"Asshole." Sakura caught their charge's muted mutter. Her onyx eyes had not deviated from their spot on the table.

Suddenly, a small parfait cup heaped with carefully shaved ice invaded Sakura's vision and she gasped in delight. It was her favorite treat in the world—strawberry shaved ice—and it was only available from select restaurants during the summer months. Who would have brought one for her?

"Happy Birthday."

Sakura looked up at the sound of Sasuke's voice but the teen had disappeared upstairs before she could remind him that her birthday was months ago.

"It's not my birthday Sasuke!" Sakura yelled anyways, knowing he could still hear her.

"It's mine."

The soft voice called Sakura's attention. "What?"

Sadako picked up her parfait spoon and twirled it delicately in her fingers. "It's my birthday." She softly repeated before taking a bite of her passion fruit flavored shaved ice and swallowing. "I didn't think he would take note of the date from my file."

Sakura was stunned. "Happy Birthday Sada. I'm sorry I didn't know earlier."

The girl waved her off. "It's fine. It's not that big of a deal anyways; it's just the anniversary of the day my mother happened to undergo excruciating pain before I popped out of the womb."

Frowning, Sakura didn't say the retort at the tip of her tongue (_you sound just like Sasuke, you know that?_) in an effort to keep the day from being ruined further.

Besides, that didn't explain why the house was clean. Sadako could care less about the state of their house. Nor did it explain why Sakura got a bowl of her favorite shaved ice as well.

_Oh._ The answer dawned on her as she took the first bite and realized that this treat used a different kind of strawberry syrup than the one the Konoha restaurants used.

This—the clean house, her favorite dessert—was Sasuke's way of saying _I'm sorry.

* * *

_

Later that night, Sadako stood before his bedroom door, fist raised to knock, but his voice startled her.

"What do you want, Sadako?"

She took that as the invitation to open the door. Breathing deeply, Sadako strode inside the room without betraying her nervousness and shut the door behind her.

Sasuke was sitting in the wide window seat reading a book he probably swiped off the bookshelf from Sakura's study downstairs. His fingers gripped the edges of the paperback in the same irritated way Sadako did when she was interrupted while reading. She swallowed as she took note of that small and insignificant detail; no wonder why her mother couldn't look at her for a moment whenever she pulled her daughter's attention from a book.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Hn."

The silence engulfed them. The girl sighed as she moved towards Sasuke's side.

"I guess..." Sadako trailed off, unsure of how to accurately convey her thoughts to the equally close-lipped person before her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... thank you."

The phrase had more of an effect on Sasuke than she thought it would. The older teen stiffened before setting his book aside.

"Don't mention it." Sasuke muttered, poking her in the forehead with two fingers. He settled back into the window seat, watching the stars.

Sadako smiled as she leaned forward to give Sasuke a tight hug. "I promise I won't mention this either."

The teen smirked over the top of her head and returned the hug. The intimate moment didn't last very long and for that, Sasuke was grateful. His student seemed to be just as adverse to physical displays of affection as he was.

She wasn't half-bad—Sasuke conceded. She isn't annoying, unlike a certain other female in their household.

_If I were to have a daughter, I'd want her to be like her_. A part of Sasuke thought, thinking on that one other goal he had.

If only you knew, Sasuke, if only you knew.

* * *

Author's Note:

Oh the cheese. I drown it its deliciousness.

Was the fight too random? I wanted to break up the easy-going relationship between the two. After all, this is Sasuke and Sakura we're talking about. One of them is bound to snap sooner or later.

And have any of you noticed how much of this fic revolves around food? O.o LMAO. I will try and keep the food scenes to a minimum but I guess that's what happens when you're writing the next chapter as you're eating dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast. Or brunch. Or... well... you get the point XD

I need to stop eating; it's bad for my health. Wait, that makes me sound anorexic. I need to stop OVER-eating and get more exercise. YOSH!

My chemistry test calls! Must do some last-minute cramming!

And thank you all who have reviewed, favorited, put on alerts, and just read in general. :)

Ja ne!

Callista Miralni


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